Slander
by BettyHT
Summary: Second Adam and Annie story. There's a nasty rumor circulating about Adam. He won't explain because he wants to protect someone he knows who may be the actual culprit. Annie is there by his side as he faces legal trouble and threats to his safety and his life. Ben runs into some trouble too.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Yes, I visited her, but I didn't get in her bed. I have lots of friends who are women, and I don't sleep in their beds either."

"Did you ever take her to bed?"

By Adam's look, Annie didn't need the answer. "I'm thirty-four years old. You don't really think you were the first woman I was with?"

"No, but it's this woman's husband who's making all these claims about you. What are you going to do about it?"

"I was with her before she was with Dave. They've been married over a year. There is no possibility that is my child."

"Hoss said that people were talking about you seeing her when she was married."

"I have never had relations with a woman who was married or even betrothed despite the rumors. I don't know that there is much I can do about this situation. I did visit her once when Dave wasn't home. I did it on purpose because I wanted to warn her off from someone she was after before the situation became too messy. I can't tell people that without exposing that man. But if I only deny having relations with her, it will seem that I protest too much, and that will only make people think I did. It's the old rock and a hard place. I can't win."

"Who was she after, and why did you think you had to do something about it?"

Sighing, Adam just looked at her. He wanted to tell her and knew he shouldn't. The fewer people who knew, the better it would be for everyone, but she was his wife and he trusted her implicitly. "Annie, I don't want to tell you and involve you in this, but I do trust you and I trust your judgment which would be helpful perhaps at this point. I have to tell you that it is someone very close to both of us, and that if this story gets out, it could hurt a lot of people. Do you think you want the responsibility of carrying this secret which you cannot divulge for any reason?"

"So are you saying that someone very close to us is the father of her baby?"

"Quite possibly that's true. Oh hell, I'm guessing it's probably true. Look, Dave Anderson is blond and blue eyed and so is his wife. Both are very fair, but their baby has dark curly hair, dark eyes, and darker skin tones than either parent. Dave had to know as soon as that baby was born, that it wasn't his. I had hoped he would be so happy to have a son that he wouldn't make an issue of it, but apparently others noticed and started talking. Now Dave feels he has to do something to preserve his honor even if it means soiling his wife's reputation beyond repair and saddling his son with the notoriety."

"Well, it can't be Hoss. If it was Hoss, no one would have known because he has that fair skin and light blue eyes. So that leaves only a couple of others. Let me think about this for a time. We can talk about it again after we get home."

Riding in the buckboard to town, Adam and Annie had a chance to talk privately that they seldom had at home except in their bedroom. When they had been about to leave, Hoss had asked Adam if he had warned Annie about the stories that were going around, and that there might be some pointed comments in town. So as they drove in, Adam explained what had been going on and why he had not wanted to go to town recently and had in fact skipped church services the past two Sundays. Normally after a winter spent snowbound, Adam couldn't wait to go to town and to go to church services to see people, to sing, and to generally enjoy the amenities a town offered. Now his reluctance to do anything like that made sense to Annie.

"So we've been cooped up on the ranch this spring because you didn't want me to know about this?"

"No, it was more that I didn't want you to be exposed to ugly things people might say. I'm hoping that by me keeping a low profile, Dave will cool down and this whole ugly episode can be closed."

"You don't really think that's going to happen, do you? As soon as people see you in town, they're going to be talking."

"I'm hoping we can get a look at those puppies that Paul has, you can pick one, and then we can run our errands. The sooner we get out of town the better."

"What about lunch?"

"I'll order a basket from the restaurant. We can have a picnic."

"Is that why you put those blankets in the wagon? I did think they were rather nice ones for a puppy."

"The basket with the rags in it is for the puppy if you want one. The blankets are for us. When we were talking about fantasies, I believe you said something about being outside under the blue sky with puffy white clouds and the sun shining. Well, today could be your day."

"That won't work."

"What won't work?"

"You won't get my mind off of our conversation by promising to seduce me on a picnic in a meadow later."

"Well, it was worth a shot. Now, can we just try to do things quickly together in town?"

"It's important that I'm with you and that we aren't fighting, isn't it?"

"Well that would certainly help although most of what people think is fighting are really just our spirited discussions."

"I'll try to behave myself today. We can look all lovey dovey if you want."

"That might be stretching it a bit far. People are used to us talking a lot. We shouldn't stop entirely, but it would be nice to tone it down a little probably so we don't add anything to the rumors."

"I can do that. I think."

Shaking his head, Adam snapped the reins to speed up the team now that they had talked. Once they were in town, Adam and Annie stopped first at Paul Martin's house. He had gotten a dog not realizing it was going to have a litter. It was some kind of shepherd breed of dog which he had gotten from a sheepherder for helping his wife in an especially difficult delivery. The man had little cash and had paid with a dog and a sheep. Paul sold the sheep and was giving away the puppies, but did like the dog very much and was keeping her. He thought she would be good company as he traveled about to ranches and farms. Paul greeted them as soon as they drove up.

"I waited assuming you would be on time, but I have to go. Mrs. Jenkins is having her baby. Her oldest rode in a half hour ago. You can find the puppies inside. Take any one you want. None are spoken for yet."

"Yes, Paul, we can do that. Anything we can do for you?"

"If you could the dog out in the back, that would be nice. Just bury whatever she does. Shovel is by the back door. Thank you, and I've gotta go."

Saying their goodbyes, Adam and Annie went inside to see the puppies and take the mother out back to do her business. It took a lot longer than they had expected. Annie couldn't decide and wanted two puppies.

"Pa said he could tolerate one. That was a big concession from him. We can't take two with us. He'll blow."

"But one will be so lonely."

"With you, Hoss, Joe, and me, I doubt that very much. One will be fine. Now you have to choose so we can go do the rest of our errands. Unfortunately by now, everyone must know we're in town, so better get your defenses up. It could get ugly."

Getting ugly didn't take long. Adam surprised Annie with a visit to the saddlery and picked up her new saddle that had been custom made by Tobias for her. Old Tobias was very pleased with all the compliments Annie gave him about her new saddle. As they walked outside to put it in the wagon, both of them could see that they were getting a lot of stares.

"Well, into the breech. Let's head over to the mercantile to get that list of supplies and then to the restaurant for our lunch order."

There were inaudible whispers as they got down from the wagon in front of the mercantile. Adam took Annie by the waist to help her down and held her close.

"Now, no matter what is said, please do not react. We need to get out of town without any more trouble."

"You think it's going to be that bad?"

"Those ladies are unlikely to say anything to me, but as soon as my back is turned, they'll try to spear you. Just be ready and stay calm."

Handing a list to the proprietor, Adam noted that the ladies who had been in the store had all gathered in a group in the back of the store. He wanted to grab Annie and haul her out of there over his shoulder when he saw her meandering around the store and getting closer and closer to the gaggle of gossips.

"My dear, we're so sorry to hear what your husband did. You have our most sincere sympathy."

"What Adam did? He got me a puppy and a new saddle. Next he's taking me on a picnic, so I don't know what you've heard, but there's certainly nothing to be upset about."

"Well, my dear, we were talking about that story about him and Mrs. Anderson. Tis a shame, it really is."

"Yes, I suppose that's true." All the ladies leaned forward ready to relish any tidbit they could get. "It's so shameful and sad really that a man would say those things about his wife and beautiful baby. I know none of you fine ladies would ever repeat such a terrible lie. Well, good day to you. It looks like Adam is ready to go. See you all in church on Sunday, I hope."

Listening and watching, Adam was torn between anger and pride. Pride won. Annie had taken a big gamble but had handled it well. He was going to have to accept that she was never going to do everything he told her to do and would have to trust that she would handle herself as well as she had just done.

It was a quick trip to the restaurant to get some food for a picnic. Stares followed them wherever they went, but Annie was more concerned about how quiet Adam was. She thought she may have angered him too much with her behavior in the store. Then she started thinking she had done just fine, and he shouldn't be angry at all. By the time they reached the Ponderosa and headed to a meadow for a picnic, Annie was angry.

"How dare you be so angry with me over a little comment I made in the mercantile. It was exactly what those ladies needed to hear. Now why are you so upset?"

Turning toward Annie after having been lost in thought for the best part of an hour, Adam smiled which really made Annie confused.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because you're right and you're wrong. I'm not mad at all. I was just thinking a lot, and you weren't saying anything either so I thought perhaps you needed some time to think too. You did a great job with those ladies. An economy of words and you fired both barrels point blank."

"You're not mad that I didn't do what you told me to do?"

"I wanted to be mad, but I married you knowing exactly what you're like. I wouldn't change you for all the gold in the world. You'll just have to pardon my occasional scowl or frown because you do have a habit of surprising me, sweetheart. I am definitely not used to being with a woman who makes her own decisions. It will take some getting used to."

Tossing his hat in the back of the wagon, Adam pulled out two blankets and spread them on the grass pushing the tall fresh stems down to make room. Then he pulled Annie into an embrace and as he kissed her, he began unbuttoning her dress.

"Adam, we can't do anything here. We're right out in the open."

"There's no one within a mile of here. We're on the Ponderosa. Anyone who sees this wagon will know it's us and give us some privacy, I hope. The puppy is asleep and the horses never tell."

The rest of the argument diminished as clothing was discarded and kisses and touches finally replaced words. About an hour later, Hoss and Joe rode to the crest of a hill nearby.

"Hey, Hoss, isn't that our wagon?"

"Yep, that's ours all right."

"Well where are Adam and Annie?"

"Joe, the grass in these meadows is only a foot or two tall, right? And you can't see them, right? Where do you think they are?"

"Oh, so we better not ride over to say hello."

"Nah, it would embarrass Annie too much. But we can sure rib Adam about it later."

Laughing, the two brothers rode for home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

In the stable at the Ponderosa as they groomed their horses, Hoss and Joe were talking and got around to the rumors about Adam being the father of the Anderson baby.

"Hoss, do you think it could be true? Do you think Adam is that baby's father? Everyone who has seen the baby says it looks like him."

"The baby had dark curly hair, dark eyes, and darker skin than his mama and papa. That don't make him Adam's son. Adam says it ain't so it ain't."

"You're sure of that?"

"Joe, no matter how many times you and Adam been at each other, has he ever lied to you? Nope, if he says it ain't his, then it ain't."

"Well, Hoss, I wonder who it could be then. Adam didn't really answer that when I asked him. He said something about how could anyone know for sure. You know how he always talks about something else when he doesn't want to answer."

"Yeah, I know. I had the same feeling. But I gotta believe that ifn he ain't saying, it's because he's got a good reason."

"He must know who it is then or have a pretty good suspicion. Now I'm wondering why he won't say who he thinks it might be."

"Hey, Joe, maybe he thinks it's you, and he's trying to save you from a world of hurt. Dave Anderson is a big guy. He could really pound on you."

"Hoss, she never liked me and you know it. She always blamed me for her and Adam breaking up. I'm not sure why. All I did was tell Adam I saw her kissing Dave Anderson when she was supposed to be Adam's gal." Joe started snickering.

"Yeah, Joe, she's pretty and all, but there's something about her that just ain't right. It's like she likes men fighting over her. I wouldn't be surprised that she started some of those rumors herself just to see if Dave would beat on Adam for it. She's probably still mad that Adam dumped her almost two years ago."

"Well, and Dave ought to know that too. He was the one who was with her when she was supposed to be Adam's gal. He knew she cheated when he married her. I guess he thought marriage might end it. Hey, do you suppose Laura cheats on Will like she cheated on Adam because you know there are stories about Will catting around too? He could be trying to get even."

"Don't know and it ain't none of my business. Will was with Laura when she was supposed to be Adam's gal so it could just be the way he is too. I just wish I could find one gal. That's hard enough without thinking about having more than one. Boy howdy, that has got to be a mess to be in."

"Well ever since Adam brought Annie into the family, I've been thinking more and more that I would like to get married." At Hoss' shocked look, Joe had to continue. "I know, I know. It's been a lot of fun seeing one girl after another, but when I think about Adam and Annie out there today and realize just a trip to town could end up in a little romance, well then I wish I had something like that too."

"Takes a lot less energy than all that chasing around to, don't it?"

"Hey, Pa probably ought to look too. There's lots of ladies who wouldn't mind being Mrs. Ben Cartwright."

"Yeah, but don't you wonder about those rides he takes and comes back hours later looking like he was working on something. I gotta wonder if Pa ain't already seeing somebody."

"Wonder who that could be? Candy's been pretty secretive lately too about his activities. Wish I knew what everyone was up to."

"Sometimes I think that, and sometimes I think it might be better if I didn't know."

The sounds of the wagon coming in the yard were heard by both brothers then. They stood in the shadows of the stable and watched Adam help Annie down from the wagon. She never minded Adam taking the dominant role in situations like that. It was nice having him right there to help and there was often a kiss involved. This time was no different. Thinking they were unobserved, the couple stood by the wagon for a moment and kissed and Adam's hands were sliding down Annie's back. Whistles from the stable broke them apart before any impropriety could be observed. Reaching into the back of the wagon and scowling at his two brothers, Adam lifted out the basket with the puppy and handed it to Annie before removing the empty lunch basket to take that into the kitchen with the supplies they had picked up.

"Oh, Hoss, you have to come here and see the puppy I got. He's so beautiful and smart."

Hoss couldn't move across the yard fast enough when he heard that. He reached Annie's side almost at a run and gazed down at the sleeping puppy. "He is a sweet one, ain't he?"

"What is it? It looks like a mutt."

"Well, you can't be Uncle Joe to Shep then. Hoss, you can be Uncle Hoss to our puppy though."

Ben had walked out of the house by then and heard Annie's statement. "Well, I was hoping they would be uncles to a little boy or girl one of these days." All three men saw a shadow pass over Annie's face at that statement, but she bravely managed to talk about the puppy instead. Then leaving the basket in Hoss' hands, she excused herself to go in the house to 'freshen up' which made all of them wonder what had just happened. Adam walked outside from the kitchen and asked where Annie had gone because he saw Hoss with the puppy. Once Hoss explained what had happened, Adam hurried inside. The others looked at each other as mystified by all of it but seeing that Adam seemed to know what had happened without even being there.

Once Hoss carried the puppy inside in the basket, he got a glower from Ben who did not like dogs on a ranch and especially not in the house. "Pa, he's just a tiny little thing, and he ain't got his mama no more. He'll stay in the basket, but he needs to be in the house right now. You wouldn't want to have to face Annie ifn a coyote came up and grabbed this little guy, now would ya?" With a harrumph, Ben headed to his desk. Joe and Hoss played with the puppy who had awakened, and Hoss went to beg some food from Hop Sing to feed him.

Upstairs, Adam was trying to comfort Annie who was crying almost inconsolably. They had not told the family about what the doctor had told Annie after her bout with typhoid fever. He believed she would never have children. "Adam, you have to tell them. I can't, but I can't bear to hear your father encourage us to give him grandchildren. You know that isn't going to happen no matter how hard we try."

"I don't know that yet. The doctor was guessing."

"Well doctors' guesses are based on a lot of training and knowledge. I believe him. You said you wanted to marry me anyway. Is that still true?"

"Oh, sweetheart, of course that's true. I love you so much. I try to show you all the time that I do care so much for you and want you with me."

"Then please tell your father. I can't live like this with him thinking there's going to be a baby when you know there probably won't be one."

Pulling Annie close, Adam was silent and let his embrace tell her that he cared and would do anything for her. She appreciated the hug and rested her head on his chest as her arms wrapped around his waist. She was thinking there definitely were some very good things about having a strong man at your side. After about an hour, Adam walked downstairs following Annie as all of them had heard Hop Sing call them to dinner. Annie had asked him not to hold her or touch her for she would break out crying most assuredly if he did that in front of the family. All Adam wanted to do was exactly what Annie had asked him not to do. Annie wasn't talking and barely touched her food before saying she needed to go outside for some air. Adam looked down at his plate and sighed deeply.

"You two have a fight about something?" Hoss was deeply concerned.

"Son, you can talk with us. Maybe we can help."

After a few moments of silence, Adam looked up at his father and then looked at Hoss and at Joe making all of them worry about what was coming next.

"It's not about that rumor that you fathered that Anderson baby because Annie has to know you wouldn't lie about that?"

"No, Joe, it's not that, and we didn't have an argument. It's something I should probably have told all of you, especially Pa, a long time ago. Annie probably can't have children. She had typhoid fever and it was very bad. It lasted for weeks, and the high fever seems to have done some long term damage to her body. Before we were married, that was what she wanted to tell me when I asked her to marry me. I love her with my heart and soul, and I know I may never have children."

"Adam, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's all right, Pa. I came to terms with it when she told me, but every time you mention having grandchildren, it hurts Annie. It makes her think about it all again. She still hasn't come to terms with it."

"Can't the two of you adopt? There always seem to be a lot of kids needing a home and a family."

"Maybe that will be an option someday, Hoss, but right now it would be too hard on Annie. It would be a constant reminder of what she cannot have. The ladies in town ask her often enough, and we're not telling them why. This is for the family to know so that Annie has a safe place." As his father and brothers nodded their heads in agreement, Adam excused himself to go see his wife. He found her leaning on the corral fence with her head down. He stood as close as he could without touching her and leaned down to talk softly to her.

"I told them. There won't be any insensitive comments from the family any more."

"What did they say?"

"They were sorry to hear that you had to deal with that, and Hoss mentioned adoption but I told him you weren't ready for that yet."

"Why? We could adopt."

"When you can adopt because you want to love a child, we can adopt. Right now I'm afraid you would adopt to fill a hole in your heart. You have to heal first, Annie, before we can give all our love to a child. Can I hold you now? I know you said it would make you cry, but it's only me here, and I really feel the need to hold you right now."

Gently, Adam began rubbing Annie's back. He moved his hand in a circular motion slowly feeling her relax. Annie turned to him, and Adam pulled her into his embrace as she rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. Eventually Adam and Annie came back inside and Annie started playing with the puppy. When he acted like he had to go, she took him to the front of the house, and he did his business off to the side. Hoss was very impressed.

"Pa, did you see that. That pup is only about ten weeks old, and he's pretty much house broke already. He's a right smart pup, all right."

When it was time to retire for the night, Annie walked up the stairs with the puppy and Adam followed behind with the basket. Ben wanted to say something but knew he shouldn't. Once the couple disappeared down the hallway upstairs, he just sighed. He guessed he would have to get used to a puppy in the house.

Upstairs, once Annie was reclining in their bed, she began thinking. The Anderson baby was born by the time she and Jeremy arrived on the Ponderosa for she remembered Hoss saying something about the rumors already at that time. The rumor mill had really pushed this one so that over the winter, the rumor had grown to have the status of truth in the minds of some. She waited until Adam slipped in beside her.

"Is it Joe you're protecting by not talking about this rumor?"

Laughing softly, Adam moved close to Annie wrapping his arm around her. "That would be too easy, wouldn't it. No, it's not Joe. He's the one who told me about Dave and Sue, and I broke off seeing her. She hates Joe, and he doesn't have much good to say about her."

"Well, then, who could it be?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" When Annie nodded, Adam leaned down close to her ear and told her. Very surprised by who Adam thought might be the father, Annie had a few more questions for Adam. "Is she that seductive that she can get anyone in her bed or do men think they're in love with her? When you were with her, did you think you loved her?" Adam nodded again. "So you thought you might marry her?"

"The thought had crossed my mind, but I wasn't even close to asking her."

"But the two of you were having relations?"

"Sue is very seductive and certainly has her charms. Sweetheart, I went into a woman's bed if she was willing and I was attracted to her. Sue is very attractive, and she was very willing. The first time, I kissed her after I brought her home, and she asked if that was all I was going to do. I wanted to be sure so I asked her if she wanted me to do more, and she made some suggestions I was more than willing to do."

"Well, that hussy! Is she like that with men in general, or was it your dashing good looks and gorgeous body she wanted?"

"I think she thought I was an agreeable conquest. Then she conquered Dave. I didn't want to sleep with a woman who was sleeping with someone else at the same time."

"But you've been to some of those houses in town. I heard Joe and Hoss talking once."

"That's not a relationship. That's just to take care of needs. Now do we need to talk about this any more? I could think of a number of other things we could be doing." As Adam was talking, he was untying the ribbons on Annie's gown.

"Really? We just did it this afternoon in the meadow."

Kisses and intimate touching replaced words for a time, and then the two fell asleep only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a puppy who had some business to do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

When Adam got downstairs with the puppy to let him outside, he was very surprised to find his father sitting by the fireplace. The smoke from his pipe had been a clue as soon as Adam entered the hallway upstairs. He put the puppy outside until he finished his business and then sat in the blue chair by the fireplace with the puppy in his lap. As he waited for his father to speak, he stroked the puppy's back and watched his eyes slowly close.

"I'm very concerned about your wife. She seems very emotional about not having children, and as if that wasn't enough for her, she has to hear these terrible rumors about you. Have you discussed this with her?"

Looking at his father and wondering if he would ever think of his sons as adults, Adam could only nod. "Annie will come to terms with all of it. Getting married probably made it hit home even though she has known this for years. Now that she's married, it's become more real and all the more devastating because she would so much like to have a child with me."

"Maybe I should ask if you've come to terms with it."

"Mostly, I guess I have. I love Annie so much and couldn't imagine life without her. I do keep hoping that the doctor could have been wrong, and that there's still a chance we could have a child so in that way, no, I haven't completely come to terms with it."

"What about the rumor that you fathered that Anderson baby?"

"Pa, you know there have been rumors about me before. They eventually died down. It seems every time a baby is born with dark hair and darker than usual skin, people are looking to me. As far as I know, I have never fathered a child with anyone."

For that, Ben had to hold his tongue. He knew it was unrealistic to expect that Adam, at his age, would not have been with women, but he wished he had married instead of being with so many. Ben had the same concern about Joe. At least Adam had finally married. Watching Ben, Adam could imagine what he was thinking. The puppy had fallen asleep on his lap so he thought it was time to take him back upstairs.

"Pa, don't worry too much. We'll all say some prayers in church tomorrow that this will all get resolved soon."

"Adam, you must have some idea who fathered Sue Anderson's baby. Why won't you say who you think it is and let them handle the rumors."

"First of all, I would never do to someone what has been done to me. It is grossly unfair. Heck, Pa, at one point, I wondered if you were the one."

"Me? Adam, I went over to help her out when Dave was gone on that cattle drive, but I would never be with a married woman, not that she didn't try."

"That's what I finally decided. I guessed she would have tried, but that you would be too sophisticated to fall for her scheme. The more I know about her, the more I wonder if she ever even liked me or was she using me as a means to an end. She's beautiful and does have some charm though."

Ben chose not to think about what Adam probably meant by that last statement for he suspected he had been in an intense sexual relationship with her and they weren't married and hadn't even discussed that as far as he knew. "I have to wonder how many men she tried to use her feminine charms on and who she finally snagged. Who do you think it was?"

"Pa, that baby was conceived during that fall drive about a year and a half ago. Sue and I had broken up over six months before that. Now, other than you and me, who else with dark hair and eyes was around here during that big drive? It narrows it down if you think about it. I had that bad leg with that wound from the arrow and other injuries. You stayed here to run the ranch business, and Hoss and Joe ran the drive with Dave's help. There was one other who went over to their ranch because you asked him to help out."

Ben's eyes got big then as he thought about it. "He wouldn't have dared, would he?"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid may have happened. You sent him over there to help out because you were busy here. I couldn't possibly go. There was no one else who could. I'm not sure, and I'm not willing to say anything based on suspicion."

"That's wise, but I still worry about Dave. He's slow to anger but holds a grudge. He's not someone to be dismissed. He could be dangerous."

"He won't come at me with a gun. He knows better than that. As for his fists, I guess I just better stay out of reach until he cools down. Good night. Annie's bound to be worrying about why I'm taking so long."

However Annie had not been worrying for she had gone looking for Adam and heard him talking with his father. When Adam came back with the puppy and got him settled in the basket, Annie asked him how much of a danger Dave could be. He tried to reassure her that Dave wouldn't be that much of a threat but wasn't convincing enough for her or for himself. Neither slept well the rest of the night. The next morning, Annie skipped breakfast saying she wasn't feeling well.

"Do you still want to go to church? We could stay home again."

"No, if we keep hiding out, then it looks like we have something to be ashamed about. We need to go to church. Hop Sing will fix me some of his wonderful tea, and I'll be fine. It's all the stress and lack of sleep, I think. Just give me a few days to get used to all of this."

As Annie went in the kitchen to request some tea, Ben leaned toward Adam and spoke softly. "She has a point, but bringing her to church looking ill and out of sorts might have the opposite effect."

"I'll be fine. I can act like I'm fine for a while. I could hear what you said." Annie answered from the kitchen.

"Pa, she's got ears like a cat. She can hear anything. She heard the puppy scratching around in the basket last night and knew he needed to go outside."

"Well, Annie, I know, but do you want to force yourself to have to do this?"

Annie came out from the kitchen with a cup of tea. It was like Hop Sing had read her mind and prepared exactly what she needed. "Papa, Adam has to go to church, and he can't go alone or there'll be even more talk. I'll be fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go dress."

True to her word, although Annie spent most of the carriage ride to town leaning up against Adam and sleeping, as soon as they neared the church, she perked up, slapped her cheeks to get a little color, and smiled. Adam hugged her close. "You're amazing. How did I ever get so lucky?"

"Oh I don't know. Perhaps it was the rustlers, the kidnapping, a wise father, and two very supportive brothers."

"You forgot to mention my charm and wit."

"Oh yes, and that notorious self confidence and arrogance."

"Hey, I thought you were going to be nice to me while we were at church."

"I will be, but we're not there yet."

On the front seat of the carriage, Ben looked at Jeremy who only shook his head. That was his sister all right, but he knew that her sassy delivery was only ever delivered that way to people she liked. She had as much trouble saying how she really felt as Adam did. Both of them found other ways to communicate the depth of their emotions. He suspected that it would never change. He knew now that Annie had never loved her first husband. She had always been quiet and deferential around him. With Adam, her heart was open and her mouth was free because she loved and trusted him with her true self. Jeremy grinned as Adam pulled Annie to him and quieted her with a kiss. That was one way to stop her sassiness.

At the church, Adam helped Annie from the carriage and she walked to the church with her arm linked in his and the family all around them. There were still some stares but more people wondered if Dave's claims could be true for Adam stood tall and ignored the accusations. His wife apparently trusted him, and his family was by his side making those who knew them realize it could not be true. That day in church went a long way toward squelching the rumor. Only the most gossipy among them would continue to talk about it, and even for them, it was losing interest.

Dave and Sue Anderson sat in church as well, and for most of the service, Dave stared at Adam on occasion glancing at the dark haired baby in Sue's arms. He was beginning to doubt too that Adam was the father of the baby, but Sue continued to insist it had to be Adam claiming she had never been with another man except when Adam forced himself on her. Dave was having trouble with that part of the story too for he had never known Adam to have to force himself on any woman. It always seemed to be the other way. He also remembered how Sue had pursued him while she was supposedly Adam's gal. She had wanted him, she said, and she let him do things and asked him to do more than he had ever done with any woman. He did wonder if she loved him, and he knew that his attraction for her was based mostly on winning the woman that Adam had bedded. He thought that after church, perhaps he and Adam could talk. As the service ended and people began to file out of church, Dave walked up to Adam as he was heading to the necessary after escorting Annie to the carriage.

"Adam, I think we should talk."

"If talking is what you have in mind, that's a good idea, but my wife isn't feeling well and I need to take her home. I'll be happy to talk to you on another day."

"All right. But don't forget."

"I won't."

As Ben and Jeremy arrived back at the carriage, Ben had to ask what that conversation had been. Adam was relieved that Dave wanted to talk because he was thinking there might finally be a calm, rational way to resolve this whole mess. What he didn't know was that when Dave reported what he said to his wife and friends, they were skeptical. That's where Annie's good acting led to an unfortunate conclusion.

"She looked fine in church, but as soon as you wanted to talk, she's suddenly not feeling well? That stinks."

"Yeah, Dave, you can't let him get away with that. He didn't show any respect for you at all, and using his wife as an excuse was the coward's way out."

That was the type of conversation Dave had with several friends over the next several days. His temper was back up, and he wanted revenge. Just as Adam and Annie were relaxing a bit about the situation because it seemed everything had gone so well at church, it had gotten worse again without their knowledge. On Wednesday, Adam and Jeremy went to town to pick up fencing supplies. They were going to have to take down some fencing to release the cattle for the spring drive, and the materials were to repair the parts of that fence that wouldn't be good enough to put back up. Annie had said she was feeling better, but Adam thought she still looked a bit pale and wanted her to stay home and rest a bit more. Reluctantly she agreed for she was tired and had been having trouble sleeping too. At least Shep was with her, and he was a great comfort to her. Adam and Jeremy got a late start because they had to fix a wagon rim before they could go. It was noon before they left.

In town, Adam saw Dave Anderson's wagon and wondered if he would see him. At the mercantile, Adam dropped off the list of supplies they needed and asked Jeremy to wait for them and load them when they were ready because he wanted to go talk with Dave. If Hoss had accompanied Adam, he would never have let Adam seek out Dave on his own. But Jeremy didn't realize the threat because he didn't recognize the men who followed Adam down the street as he walked toward the livery stable where Dave's wagon was standing. With so many people milling about on the street, Adam didn't realize the threat either. He walked into the livery calling Dave's name to see if he was there.

"Yeah, Cartwright, what do you want?" Dave's voice came from the shadows in the back of the stable. He was coherent, but his words were slurred together.

"Sorry, Dave, I thought you would want to talk, but you've been drinking so this isn't probably a good time to do this."

As Adam turned to leave, Dave's friends were there blocking the exit. Both had drawn their pistols once they entered the shadows of the stable. Adam turned back to Dave.

"Apparently your friends are going to insist I stay. Now do you want to try to talk about this mess?"

"You know what my friends have been telling me? They said that somebody who does something like what you done deserves to be horsewhipped." From the shadows, Adam heard the unmistakable sound of a bullwhip being snapped. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Dave, I didn't do anything. It's a big lie."

"Now you're calling my wife a liar? If I ever thought you might be telling the truth, that cinches it. You're a dirty liar calling my wife a liar."

It wasn't a good time to point out to Dave that his statements were illogical. He was angry, and it was all too obvious that he had been drinking too much. It was a terrible combination for a man who had been cuckolded because it meant he wanted someone to pay, and of course, that someone was Adam. He walked closer to Adam who didn't want to draw his pistol. He didn't want to shoot Dave, and he wouldn't be able to stop Dave and be able to fire on the two at the door who already had their pistols in their hands. They might be bad shots but he was only about ten feet away from them. They could hardly miss even if they were bad shots. Adam tried to talk to Dave, but that was cut off abruptly as Dave swung the whip and caught Adam high on his right arm. The whip tore his shirt and left a welt on his arm.

"Dave, don't do this. You can still walk away from this."

"Yeah, well you can't. You're gonna pay now."

Dave landed two more strikes drawing blood before Adam was able to grab the whip and pull Dave off balance. Adam threw everything he had into a left uppercut laying Dave out on the floor. The two with the pistols were unsure of what to do which gave Adam an out. He rushed them and pushed them aside finding out that they were in fact terrible shots for they fired at him as he ran. Once they got to their feet only dust was thrown up by their errant shots, but Adam hoped they didn't hit an innocent bystander in their anger and frustration. Thankfully they gave up as he rounded the corner near the mercantile. Adam's right arm was stinging a lot and bleeding profusely shocking Jeremy who had come out of the store when he heard the shots. Roy and Clem came running and stopped when they saw Adam plop down on the bench in front of the store. He gave them a brief rundown of what had happened.

"Well, I'm thinking a few days in jail might just cool them boys down. Clem, take a couple of deputies and round those boys up. I'm walking Adam over to the Doc's."

"Roy, I can just go home."

"Not bleeding like that, you aren't. Doc's gonna patch you up first. Jeremy, you wanna get Adam a shirt from the store there. They know his size and the color he likes."

Nodding and smiling in response to the sheriff's request and smirk, Jeremy did as asked and then had to ask where the doctor's office was. He arrived with the shirt as Doctor Martin was applying salve and bandages to the cuts from the whip. He put a lot of padding over each one. Then he put salve on the welts the whip had made on Adam's back as it wrapped around him each time. Finally he cleaned the abrasions on Adam's hands from grabbing the whip and pulling Dave off balance.

"Now Jeremy, you need to let Hop Sing and Annie know that these wounds have to be cleaned out and dressed at least twice a day so there won't be any infection. He's not to do anything with that arm either so the skin can close up and the bleeding will stop. He needs two weeks of light duty to let everything heal."

"Yessir, I'll see to that. Annie's a right good nurse, and she'll take good care of him. I might need something for pain though."

"Oh, were you hurt?"

"No, but I probably will be when I bring him back to Annie all hurt like this. She's gonna be awful mad at me for not stopping it."

Even while grimacing from the doctor's ministrations, Adam had to grin a little for he knew that Jeremy was absolutely correct. Annie was going to be mad. Adam looked forward to making up with her once she calmed down. Makeup sex was always very passionate. It was as if Jeremy and Paul knew what he was thinking because they just shook their heads at him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it took so long, but there was quite a bit of changing I needed to do on the earlier chapters especially chapters 2 and 3.**

**Chapter 4**

"What were you thinking? You said it yourself! You said you would stay away from him, and you went to see him in the livery stable? And you went by yourself? Are you an idiot?" As expected, Annie was very angry.

"No, I'm not, but you're really pushing for that spanking!"

"You wouldn't dare. Besides, with that arm, you couldn't do it anyway!"

"Don't push too hard, or I'll try no matter what it takes."

Ben felt he had to intervene at that point. "Adam, I think your wife is just concerned about you. There's no need to argue and make threats."

"What? Pa, we're just talking."

"Yes, Papa, we just have to get it out so it doesn't simmer."

Shaking his head at his son's unusual relationship with his wife, Ben walked back into the great room leaving Adam's care to Hop Sing and Annie. Seeing Hoss and Joe there next to the fireplace, he had little to say about how Adam and Annie conversed and only shook his head.

"Pa, we see it too. It looks like they're fighting all the time, but then they're all fine with each other like nothing happened. I guess it's a lot like Adam and Little Joe."

"What? You can leave me out of this."

"Nah, I mean the way you and Adam are always going at it with each other. Seems to be the only way you two can talk sometimes, but it clears the air and then the two of you work it out. We know ya love each other as brothers, but it can be darn hard for us sometimes to have to listen to it all with the two of ya jabbering at each other so much."

"Oh. Well you do see the common denominator here is Adam. Maybe it's the only way he can communicate. He seems to have a few of those knock down drag out spats with Pa rather often too."

"Deronmintor?"

"The denominator, the common element, the common factor, the only one who is in all the arguing."

"You might have something there, Joe, but ya coulda just said it straight out the first time. I guess Adam finally found someone like him to marry so she don't take it wrong when he gets all grumpy and complaining."

"Boys, there's another problem. With those cuts on his arm and the welts on his back, Adam shouldn't go on this drive. I know he has everything set up to boss the drive, but the doctor doesn't want him using that arm to do much of anything for two weeks. You know if he goes, he'll do too much. You don't need that problem."

"Yeah, knowing our oldest brother, he'll let it go too until he needs a doctor, and that could be tough. Hoss, why don't you boss the drive, and I'll keep the ramrod job."

"We can do that. Pa, do you suppose there's any way to hire Dave to work this drive? He's a darn good cowhand."

"No, Hoss, that's probably not a good idea right now. Why don't you see if Will can help out? We're taking some of the cattle from his ranch so it would make sense for him to help."

"Pa, have you been over there lately? The looks from Laura could turn ya into a pillar of salt. Something's not right there." Laura had always made Hoss feel uneasy, and lately he didn't want to be anywhere near her.

"I know. I've seen them together, and it's not pleasant, but maybe that's a good reason to take Will along. It might help to separate the two of them for a bit."

"Yeah, Adam hasn't been over there to help out since he hooked up with Annie. I'm guessing it was a real long winter on that ranch. What happened to Will's plans to sell the ranch and go to San Francisco?" Joe was concerned because Will had made it clear he wanted to move and start up his own business, and Joe thought it would be a good idea for Peggy too to get away from Adam and get used to Will as her stepfather.

"Laura threw a tantrum when it finally was time to make the move, and your cousin backed down. He's not a happy man right now."

"Guess Adam really dodged a bullet with that one, didn't he?"

Walking out of the kitchen, Adam was perturbed to find his family talking about him. "Dodged what bullet?"

"Ah, well we was talking about the drive. You shouldn't go. Joe will still ramrod and I'll take over as trail boss. We're gonna get Will to help out."

"Oh, and that was probably where dodging the bullet came in." Adam knew he shouldn't go on the drive, and this made it easier for him, but it still rankled. He hated having to turn the job over when it was his turn to do it. That and his family talking about him irritated him more than he already was by what Dave had done in town.

Realizing that his hope that Adam wouldn't know they had been talking about Adam's failed relationship with Laura, Hoss found an excuse to head outside. "Well, I better go get to work then. I'll let Candy know that I'm bossing the drive, so he'll have a bit more to do here on the ranch while we're gone."

"Hoss, I'll help you." Joe wanted to get out of the room as much as Hoss did.

That left Ben who asked his sons if they needed any help. When they said they didn't, he excused himself to go get a cup of coffee leaving Adam and Annie alone in the great room. Adam had his shirt on but open and the white bandages that Hop Sing had insisted on wrapping around him to protect the welts on his back were all too visible as was the thick padding that could be seen under the right sleeve.

"Why is that everyone gets nervous any time we're talking about Will or Laura? He's your cousin and neighbor and yet they're not invited to family events. We say hello to them at church, and that's about it. Peggy always asks when you'll come over again, and you do your best to sidestep that question. Would you please explain all of that to me?"

"Now?" With his fingers almost immediately brushing across his lips and his eyes turned down at the floor, Annie knew it was something Adam found painful to discuss. She started to think that it was not a good time to press him for the details for he was physically, emotionally, and mentally stressed by the situation with the rumor about the Anderson baby and that so many including Dave would believe it. His integrity and reputation for honesty were very important to him, and although he would avoid telling the truth sometimes, she had not known him to lie and his family held that same opinion of him.

"I'm sorry I got angry with you for going to see Dave in the livery stable. I don't understand why you didn't take Jeremy with you."

"I didn't think he wanted to fight. After church on Sunday, he wanted to talk, and I told him I would, but that you weren't feeling well and I wanted to get you home. I don't know what happened with him in the last few days to change him back into that angry man bent on getting revenge."

"You didn't tell me on Sunday that he had asked to talk with you."

"You were so tired, and you'd been such a trooper to come with me to church, I felt I had to spare you any more. I wanted to take care of you."

"I'll be fine. You need to think more about taking care of yourself."

"Well, on that note, because we never had time for a honeymoon and I can't go on the drive or work anyway, how about if I ask Pa if he thinks we could take a couple of weeks and go to San Francisco? There are usually some nice shows in the spring, and we can go to the beach and have a picnic. There are some wonderful restaurants to go to, and I have friends I would like you to meet."

With a frown and a smile, Annie nodded.

"The smile I get, but why are you frowning?"

"I would like to go very much, but I was wondering if all of this was to avoid answering the question I asked earlier. You know, if you don't want to talk about it, you could just tell me that. You don't have to use these elaborate avoidance techniques you have."

"I didn't ask you to go to San Francisco to avoid answering your question. I do think that two weeks on our own will give us more time to talk. I'll tell you anything you want to know. Now if you want to know about Laura, I want to go up to our room. I don't want to have anyone else there when I explain what happened."

So Adam and Annie went to their room, and while they sat side by side on the bed, Adam explained one of the more painful parts of his past. He told her how Will and Laura were seeing each other while Laura was supposed to be getting ready for her wedding to Adam. He told her about the accident when he fell from the roof and was paralyzed. Then he told her about being in the wheelchair and overhearing Laura and Will express their love for each other. That betrayal was why he was uncomfortable around Laura and Will. He explained that Peggy wanted him to be her father and was having a difficult time accepting Will in that role. To help with the separation, Adam had asked his father to try to keep the two of them apart. Therefore, unless it was a big party, Will and Laura were not invited to the Ponderosa. It was a trying situation for all of them.

"Did you sleep with her?"

Obviously a little surprised by that question, Adam answered first with a question. "Are you going to ask me about every woman with whom I have had relations?"

"No, just the ones I might still see."

With a deep sigh, Adam leaned back on the bed. "Yes."

"Well she must be an idiot then to walk away from the best loving and most handsome man I have ever met. I can't believe she did that to you."

Seeing how angry Annie was, Adam felt a warning was appropriate. "Now, Annie, it's over. I don't want you doing anything about it. I was truthful with you that her betrayal and Will's were very painful for me, but I have to tell you I was very lucky too. If not for Laura leaving me for Will, I would never have found you. You're the best for me, and I want you to know that there has never been and never will be anyone who is more important to me than you are." Adam sat up and reached for Annie with his left arm to pull her to him. They kissed, and Annie's hand brushed across the welts on his back making him flinch.

"Oh, I am so sorry. When you kiss me, sometimes my brain just stops working."

Grinning then, Adam's good spirits were back. "Hmm, it's a confidence builder that I have that effect on you and we've been married almost five months."

"Mister, we could be married five years or fifty, and you would still have that effect on me. Now though, you should get some rest."

"I would rest better if you were with me."

"You know perfectly well that if I stayed here with you, you wouldn't be getting any rest at all. Your hands just naturally seem to start roaming around whenever I'm close to you, and as soon as those lips of yours touch me, my brain seems to go numb. Now get some sleep. I'll wake you for dinner."

After dinner, Adam asked his father if he would mind if he and Annie took a couple of weeks to go to San Francisco because he couldn't work anyway. Although a stage ride might be a bit uncomfortable, it did fit within the doctor's prescription so Ben had no objections and thought it might be good for the two of them to get out of town for a while. Ben was concerned at how the stress seemed to be affecting Annie's ability to sleep and making her feel ill as well. Adam and Annie began packing the next morning. After Hop Sing and Annie cleaned up Adam's wounds and put on fresh clean bandages, Ben gave Adam and Annie a ride to town to catch the stage. It was a blustery day, and few people were traveling or even out and about in town. There were no other passengers on the stage, and Adam gave Annie a pat on the behind as she climbed into the stage ahead of him and then he had a lecherous grin once he got on the stage.

"We can't do anything on the stage!"

"Oh, I think there may be a few things we can do."

Shaking her head, Annie had to admit that the time would pass more quickly if they were hugging and kissing for some of the time at least. She wasn't too worried because Adam did have one arm he could barely use. She wasn't as safe as she thought though, but she didn't object much either to the attention she got.

In town as Ben watched the stage pull out, Sheriff Roy Coffee hailed him. The two of them sought refuge in a nearby restaurant where they ordered coffee.

"Ben, I'm right glad to see ya. Saves me a trip out to your place."

"Oh, why did you need to come out to see me?"

"Well, actually I needed to contact Adam. Dave is still in jail for disturbing the peace yesterday along with those two friends of his. Adam wouldn't press no other charges so I'll have to let them out in two days. But Dave got himself a lawyer."

Ben was confused. "Now if he's getting out in two days, why does he need a lawyer?"

"Well seems he's gonna sue Adam for support for his child and he's suing him too for adultery with his wife."

"What?"

"I got a subpoena I gotta serve on Adam. He has to appear in court to give a deposition to the lawyer."

"Well that's plain ridiculous. Besides, Adam has left town for two weeks. He and Annie are heading to San Francisco. So unless you can ride faster than that stage is going in this weather, Dave will have to wait two weeks to have that subpoena served. Maybe he'll come to his senses by then."

"Don't hardly think so, Ben. I been hearing those two jaspers who was locked up with him keep telling him how he got shamed by Adam and needs to get back at him. Ben, I can't see this turning out well. There's gonna be hurt all around from this mess."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You're enjoying this a bit too much." Adam was grouchy. Annie had insisted they stop over in Sacramento to see a doctor, and they had been cooped up in the hotel room for two days. There were a couple of things that always made him a grouch. One was being a patient, and the other was being forced to stay in one location for very long. In this case, both were true so he was a very crabby man.

"I'm not enjoying it. It had to be done. You had a fever, and we need to make sure these wounds from that whip don't get any worse. You heard the doctor. I need to clean these at least two or three times a day, and no more traveling for you until they start to heal again. There's only a mild infection in that one cut now, but we can't let it get any worse."

"No, what I meant is that you like being in charge and telling me what to do. I hope you know it won't last."

"Oh, I think there are a few things you wouldn't mind me ordering you to do."

"Like what?"

Smiling, Annie sat on the bed and looked up as demurely as she could manage at that moment. "Perhaps I could tell you it was time for a nap, and you better shuck them clothes and crawl into this bed."

"Would you be in there with me?"

"Well, it would depend on how fast you comply with my request."

Grinning, Adam dropped his shirt to the floor. It hadn't been buttoned anyway because Annie had finished cleaning his wounds and bandaging them securely only a few minutes previously. Then he dropped his pants, pulled off his socks, and slid under the covers. "Fast enough for you?"

"Perhaps too fast. I may have to ask you to slow down a little in the future. But for now, yes, that was nice." Slowly then, Annie unbuttoned her dress and let it slide to the floor. Then she unhooked her shoes and slipped them off. Reaching up under her petticoats, she slipped off a stocking and then the other and dropped them by her shoes. Item by item, she slowly removed the rest of her clothing before pulling the covers back and sitting beside Adam. "Now, it's your turn to give orders." And they played that game for a time before they actually did fall asleep once they were both very satisfied with how the early afternoon had gone.

When it was nearing six, Annie awoke and looked up to see Adam gazing down at her. She knew he liked to watch her as she slept. She had asked him if he would draw a portrait of her in sleep so she could see what he found so fascinating. He said he would if he could pull the covers off. Annie wasn't ready to let him draw her as a nude, so that request of hers had yet to be granted.

"May I escort you to dinner, my fair lady?"

"You may, indeed, kind sir, but methinks we ought to don yon fine clothing beforehand."

Chuckling, Adam slid from the bed and retrieved their clothing that was strewn across the floor. The next morning, Annie was satisfied that the cuts on his arm were healing. There had been no drainage during the night, and the angry red color had subsided to a light shade of pink. They got tickets for the riverboat and were on their way to San Francisco by the end of the day.

Standing at the rail with his left arm around Annie's waist, Adam pointed out to her places and sights that he knew. She was dismayed at the murky waters, and Adam explained it was the result of mining and that there were court cases being fought over that issue. He hoped this would never happen to the waters of Nevada and beautiful Lake Tahoe but said the outcome of the cases in California would have a big impact. They discussed other issues related to mining and water rights. Although Annie loved the bantering and teasing with Adam, it was these talks on serious issues when he explained things and asked her opinion that made her love him more every day. Although he threatened to spank her when he was perturbed, she didn't think he would actually do that unless she willfully went against his wishes on something he found terribly important. He showed too much respect for her as a person for her to think he would treat her like a child. The paternalistic attitude of her first husband had irritated her more than anything else about him, and she was happy that Adam did not act that way toward her. Even with all the grumbling, he had listened to her advice in Sacramento and then heeded it. It made her feel more confident and loved.

In San Francisco, it was Adam's turn to take charge which he enjoyed immensely. He took Annie to the theatre, to meet and visit with his friends, and to his favorite restaurants. There were of course lots of quiet intimate times in their hotel room in between because it was their official honeymoon. At Adam's insistence, Annie bought some new dresses and then some other garments that she thought were absolutely risqué, but Adam thought she would look ravishing in them even if he was the only one who would see her dressed that way. In fact, he was sure that he would be the only one to see her dressed that way, and just the thought of it made him want to rush back to their hotel room. They didn't rush back, but Annie did model some of the new garments that evening, and their tickets to the theatre were forgotten. There was the promised picnic, visits to chocolate and pastry shops, and then to bookstores where the two of them stocked up on some of the latest releases. By the time their ten days in the city were over, both of them were relaxed and rejuvenated. Adam's arm and back were nearly healed so the trip home was much less strenuous.

Again on the stage, Adam and Annie were the only passengers from Placerville to Virginia City. Adam had some ideas of what he would have liked to do, but Annie wanted to talk about something that had been nagging at the edges of her conscious mind for a while. "You said you thought for a time that Pa could have been the one who fathered that Anderson baby because he rides off for hours at a time and no one knows where he is. What do you think he's been doing?"

"I'm not sure. I think he is seeing someone. When we brought supplies to the line shacks this spring, the one we use the least because it's between home and Virginia City was clean and orderly. Usually it's the dustiest one because it is so seldom used."

"So you think he's been using it to meet with someone?"

Nodding, Adam had to smile. "I even toyed with the idea of following him to see who it could be, but that really is none of my business if he doesn't want us to know."

"Don't you have any idea? And why would he want to hide it?"

"First of all, any one Ben Cartwright is seen with at a dance or a party becomes the target of gossip and rumors of impending marriage, and slander about gold diggers inevitably results. So that Pa is keeping it a secret if he is seeing someone is not surprising at all. It doesn't mean there is any reason to think it isn't a wholly respectable relationship. And as to whom it could be, I have no idea. My father appreciates a pretty woman, and always finds time to chat with women even if he doesn't particularly care for them. He is always a gentleman."

"Too bad his sons didn't inherit that from him."

"Darling, would you have me act gentlemanly with all the ladies, or should I continue my roguish ways with you only?"

"Well, when you say it that way, I guess I'm pretty happy the way things are. I still want to know who it is."

Laughing at Annie's insatiable curiosity, Adam pulled her to him for a sound kiss. They were still in each other's arms when the stage rolled up to the depot in Virginia City. Annie straightened her clothing and sat up straight causing Adam to grin. "It's all right for them to know we've been kissing. We're married, and the coach was private."

As soon as the driver put the step by the door of the stage, Ben was there pulling the door open to welcome Adam and Annie home. Every time that Adam traveled away from the Ponderosa like this, Ben had a little stab of fear that this might be the time he decided not to come back. Ben knew the wanderlust was just barely held in check by his eldest son. He had hoped that Adam and Annie would have a child and make a home on the Ponderosa, and that was the main reason he had been sad to learn that Annie might not be able to have a child. But he was home again, and Ben hugged Annie and gave her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing Adam in an unaccustomed hug. Adam had no idea why his father was so demonstrative but was soon to learn the reason.

All of the serenity of the trip was dashed almost as soon as Adam and Annie returned to Virginia City. After their greeting from Ben, Roy was there to meet them with the subpoena. Adam was angry but even more upset when he saw how the subpoena affected his wife. Because the subpoena required him to divulge information in a formal deposition with a judge as a witness, there would be no way to avoid all sorts of embarrassing revelations. There was no protection of the right to remain silent in a civil proceeding. Adam would have to answer truthfully any question posed to him.

Ben suggested that the three of them might like to have lunch in town, and then go talk with their lawyer about the subpoena. Adam agreed for putting it off wasn't going to help so he would do what he usually did and meet a challenge head on. Annie put her head down and sighed wondering when the two of them would have any peace. As they were seated at a table for lunch, Madame Fourier entered the restaurant. Ben saw her first.

"Well, hello, Michelle, ah , Madame Fourier."

"Good afternoon, Monsieurs Cartwright, and Madame Cartwright. What a pleasure to see you here."

"Michele, if you're planning to dine alone, perhaps you would like to joining us. Adam and I just returned from San Francisco." Annie liked Michele a great deal, and had enjoyed their talks especially the long talk the day she had ordered so much clothing.

"Ah, Annie, I would be so happy to join you if I am not imposing. Did you add to your wardrobe while you were in San Francisco?"

Blushing, Annie nodded, and Michele had a good idea why she was doing that and so did Ben. "You must show me the dresses you bought when you have a chance. I would like to see if there are some patterns I could use in my shop."

"I would be happy to do that."

"Sweetheart, why don't you do that after lunch while I go see the lawyer?"

"Don't you want me with you at the lawyer's office?"

"If you want to sit and listen, that's fine, but I assume that Hiram will be running me through a series of questions he will expect I'll have to answer. You already know what the answers will be. It's your choice of what you want to do."

"I'll go with you, and if Hiram thinks I'm not needed, then I'll take the valise with the dresses over to see Michele."

"That sounds like a plan. Now does anyone know what the special is today?"

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly as the four of them chatted about lighter events, and Annie invited Michele to the Ponderosa whenever she had the chance. Michele smiled and said she would be delighted to visit and told Annie that perhaps once things calmed down for her and Adam, they would be able to spend some time together. After lunch, the Cartwrights headed to the lawyer's office and Michele went back to her shop. As expected, Hiram had no questions or concerns that required Annie's presence so she headed over to spend some time with her new friend.

On the day of the deposition, Annie accompanied Adam to the courthouse as did Ben. Hoss and Joe as well as Will were still gone on the cattle drive. Hiram said a show of family support couldn't hurt, but their absence could. Hiram and Adam had discussed the case the day before, and they were sure that a judge hearing such a deposition would not be impressed with Dave's case. In front of the judge who would decide if the case had merit and could proceed, Dave's lawyer made Adam explain his relationship with Sue Anderson in depth.

"Did you ever have relations with Sue Anderson?"

"No, I did not."

"Come now, isn't it fairly common knowledge that you did before she was married to Dave Anderson? Are you trying to tell us that everyone who believes that is wrong? How could that be?"

"No, but her name was Sue Maitland then, and yes I did have relations with her. It was mutually agreeable to us. I never had relations with Sue Anderson though. I would never be with a married woman or even a woman who was betrothed."

"Your Honor, please instruct the witness to only answer the questions I pose."

"You opened the door, counselor. You have to live with what comes in or be more careful in how you phrase the question."

"Now you were the one who arranged the cattle drive that Dave Anderson worked, weren't you?"

Adam had to answer in the affirmative.

"But you didn't go on that drive, did you?"

"No, I did not. I was injured and confined to light work."

"Your Honor?"

"Mr. Cartwright, please only elaborate on your answers when he asks you to do that."

"When her husband was gone on a cattle drive that had been arranged by you, why did you go to see her if it wasn't for a liaison between the two of you?"

"I wanted to warn her about some of the behavior I had heard about."

"What kind of behavior?"

"I heard she was seeing other men. I told her she shouldn't be chasing after other men because she was married."

"Did you see her with anyone or were you the one she was chasing after?" Dave's lawyer was getting overconfident thinking he was leading Adam into admitting an affair with a married woman.

"No, I was not, and I did not see her with anyone else."

"Then why were you so sure that these things you heard were true?" Hiram smiled. He knew that a lawyer should never, ever give an open-ended question to a hostile witness especially one as intelligent as Adam Cartwright. Adam was free now to explain, and it wouldn't be good for Dave's case especially because Adam was answering the question posed by Dave's lawyer.

"Because she was seeing Dave when she was supposed to be my girl. Someone told me that he saw her kissing Dave, and when I asked her, she had to admit she had been seeing him behind my back."

Standing then before another question could be asked, Hiram made a motion to the judge. "Your Honor, based on what you have heard here already, I would ask you to dismiss this suit and order Mr. Anderson not to pursue this legally and waste the court's time."

"Counselor, I am inclined to agree with you. Does the plaintiff have any evidence to support this case because I haven't heard any so far?"

"Your Honor, I'm sure that with time, the case could be presented to your satisfaction so that a trial of the torts could proceed."

"Well, now, counselor, that's a big mistake you made. You will not use my time to go on a fishing expedition looking for evidence. You should have had some before you showed up in my courtroom to take a sworn statement. This case is dismissed with prejudice. Nothing like it better be filed with this court, or I will find both of you in contempt. Mr. Cartwright, I apologize that this fiasco was allowed. I'm sure you lawyer can advise you about the statutes on slander if you would like to pursue that. This proceeding, however, is adjourned." The judge angrily banged his gavel and stood to exit the room.

"You can't do that! He took my wife! He needs to be punished for that!" Dave had been getting angrier and angrier in the courtroom as the deposition had proceeded. He knew too that his lawyer had not been a match for Adam.

"You sir, need to be quiet or I will hold you in contempt of court. A few days in jail might be necessary to calm you down."

"Contempt? You bet it's contempt. You were paid off by the Cartwrights, weren't you? They can get away with anything because they have a lot of money."

"Sheriff, please remove him from this courtroom and see if a day in jail can get him to regain his good manners if he has any."

"I'll get you, Adam Cartwright! I'll get you for this if it's the last thing I do."

It was a somber group of Cartwrights who traveled back to the Ponderosa. They had quashed the legal proceedings against Adam, but Dave was even angrier than before. All of them knew that an angry man like that could be a lot of trouble for them if he decided to act on his anger. He would never meet Adam directly in a fight for he would lose. The biggest question then was what he would do instead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Heard you had a pretty tough time with Dave's lawyer but handled it just fine."

"Candy, I wish I knew a better way to talk about this, but I need to ask you something." Adam and Candy were out fixing fence. Adam was feeling fine and some of the fence repairs had been jury rigged until someone could get to it. Jeremy was gone to get more supplies so the two men had some privacy for a time.

"Adam, I think I know what you're asking. No, I'm not the father. I was sweating it out for some months though."

"May I ask why?"

"It pretty much happened as you suspect just not as fast as you think. She made a move on me the first day I was over there to help out. I think that might be one of the reasons your father asked me to go after he had helped out a few times. I'm guessing she put some moves on him and he wasn't comfortable being around her. I resisted, honestly, I did. But she was after me and after me. I couldn't control it. She'd bend over by the clothes line while I was working, and I could see so much cause she would have her skirt hiked up when she was working outside. She's a darn fine looking woman as you know. But I didn't do anything. I stayed away from her as much as I could, did the work I had to do, and got out of there as soon as I could. Could only take it for a week, and then I asked someone else to help her."

"Let me guess. She touched your arm, your shoulder, or your hand as often as she could get near to you, and she stood as close to you as she could often brushing up against you. She dressed provocatively and talked in innuendoes that left little to the imagination."

"Well, I suppose you would know. You thinking you were just another conquest?"

"I'm thinking she wanted some of the Cartwright money and I was a means to that end. Now why did you say you were sweating it out?"

"Well, I was in town on a Saturday maybe two months later or so and had some drinks with your brothers and some of the boys. You know how it is when you can get Joe to crack open that wallet of his. Well, I probably had a few more than I should have, but the next day was a day off so I wasn't worried. As I was getting my horse and thinking I ought to ride home while I still could, Sue called to me from the mercantile. She had a wagonload of supplies and asked if I could help her. I did of course, and then she asked me to help her drive the wagon home and unload it because Dave was gone on a hunting trip over the weekend."

"And her hands were roaming and she made all sorts of suggestions as to what you could do."

"That's it. I took her that afternoon and came back several more times when she asked me to. Adam, she told me she was already with child so I didn't have to worry. Damn, she had me do things that no other woman had ever asked me to do. I'd dream about her at night. But afterwards, I was worried that she had said she was with child just to encourage me more. Well anybody can count, and it was seven months later that she had that baby so I know it ain't mine. Until then, I was thinking I could end up in the situation you're in. I was never with a married woman before and I'm ashamed I was with her. It wasn't right, but no one else has to know."

"You said you asked someone else to help her out. Who did you ask?"

"Oh boy, I was afraid you'd want to know that. I asked Will if he could help. I figured she'd let a married man alone. I know now that wasn't very smart. I heard that Will and Laura are having some troubles so I'm thinking that he might be the father."

"Damn, this just keeps getting better and better. Well I guess it's with Will that I ought to be having this conversation."

"He's supposed to be working at his place today. I can handle this with Jeremy. Why don't you go over to talk with Will once Jeremy gets back here?"

Jeremy returned with the wagonload of materials and Adam headed back to the house to change. He was surprised when he walked in that his father was not there, but Annie was sitting by the fireplace working on some sewing. Michele had been teaching her some basic skills so she could make new curtains. Annie liked it, and thought she might like to tackle something more complex in the future.

"Do you know where Pa is?"

"No, he's off on one of his mystery rides again. He always says he has 'something to do' and then comes back a few hours later. Why do you need to know?"

"I had that talk with Candy. He's not the father, and I wanted Pa to know because we had discussed that possibility. Now I'm going over to see Will. Seems he was helping Sue too during that time. If he's the father, I may deck him."

"Adam, you can't. That situation over there is bad enough from what Hoss says."

"I know, but I sure would like to."

"Go talk with him and find out what happened. You might be as surprised as you were with what you found out from Candy. I'd like to know the details of that talk sometime too."

"I'll tell you tonight."

"Ah, pillow talk, the best kind. Will that be before or after?"

Shaking his head, Adam bid his wife goodbye and headed over to see Will. When he got there, Laura was standing by Will near their stable. When she saw Adam riding up, she gave a small wave and headed to the house. Adam was surprised by that, but it was welcome because now he wouldn't have to come up with an excuse as to why he wanted to see Will privately.

"Somehow, I'm guessing it's me you want to talk with."

Dismounting, Adam tied Sport to the corral fence. "Yes. I need to find out what happened with Sue Anderson. Somehow I have to find the truth and then find a way to get Dave to believe it. I talked with Candy. He told me what he asked you to do. He feels badly about it thinking he pushed you into a bad situation."

"He did, but it's not probably what you think."

"And you know what I'm thinking?"

"Well, it is a guess, but I would suppose you think now that I'm the father of Sue Anderson's baby. I'm not. Yes, she tried, but I told her I had made a mistake like that once already and hurt someone very much. I would never do anything like it again no matter how attractive the situation."

That was probably the closest Will had ever come to admitting his duplicity with Laura. Adam believed him. "She tried then?"

"Yes. I think the woman has to be insatiable. I guessed that she had tried with Ben and with Candy and that's why I was asked to help out. It would have been nice if Candy had given me some warning because that woman is frightfully seductive."

"I'm sorry. It just seemed with how you and Laura are lately that you might have fathered that baby, and she was upset about it."

"No, Laura is upset about something else entirely. She's had several miscarriages. We thought the first one was God's punishment, I guess. She wasn't even sure if that one was mine or yours. But the next two have really hurt. The doctor has advised her that she may not be able to carry a child to term. We've both been sad about that but especially Laura. Whenever she sees another woman with a baby, it hits her so hard. That's why we leave events so quickly sometimes."

"I'm sorry, Will. I had no idea."

"Well, it's not you, Ben, Candy, or me. It can't be Hoss, and if I remember correctly, Joe can't stand to be around her. Who do you suppose the father is?"

"Damned if I know. This whole situation just got a whole lot worse. How can I talk some sense into Dave if I can't help him with that answer."

"The way she is, Adam, it could almost be anyone."

"Not anyone. It has to be someone with dark hair, darker eyes, and darker skin. This is going to take some work but the answer can't be too far away. She's never left town. Well give my regards to Laura and Peggy."

As Will waved goodbye, Adam was deep in thought. He headed home to discuss this with Annie and perhaps his father if he was home yet. He needed some ideas to figure out a way to pursue a solution to this mess. When he arrived home, there was a carriage there that he didn't recognize. He dismounted and walked to the house only to be met by Annie who came outside.

"You're never going to believe who's here."

Pausing only a moment, Adam had an idea. "Sue?"

"Darn, how do you do that?"

"More importantly, why is she here?"

"She got here just after you left. We've been talking." Annie recounted what had happened so far. "She's very upset. She's admitted she lied to Dave. She wanted him to get upset and leave her. She can't stand having him around. Apparently she tried to get any man she could thinking he would leave, but instead he got angry, very angry. So she said it was because of you. She said you had been over there having your way with her and laughing behind his back. She was hoping Dave would challenge you to a fight and be killed. It was another way she thought she could get rid of him. Then she worried she would have no money so she said the baby was yours hoping that you would pay them money to shut up. She planned to take the money and use it to leave Dave."

"And what about the baby?"

"She was going to take the baby with her. She does love the baby and the baby's father."

"Who is it?"

"She won't say other than he's from Virginia City, which we already had surmised, but that he's already married and can't get out of it. They both feel trapped, and it made them desperate. He was apparently the one who said that she ought to get some money from you."

With his head down and leaning against a porch post, Adam rubbed his forehead. "What a mess. Frankly I don't see any good way out of this. Got any ideas?"

"Only that maybe we should think about giving her the money to leave. Dave is drinking a lot and seldom home. She says when he does come home, he's always angry and has threatened her."

"That just doesn't seem to be the Dave I know. This has really messed him up. Well let's go inside and talk. We'll see what she thinks about your idea."

"Oh, there's one more thing. She said Dave has contacted someone named Poole and that you would know who that was."

Adam closed his eyes as he frowned. Then he looked at Annie and put his arms out for her. "Sweetheart, this whole mess just got a whole lot worse."

Inside the house, Sue seemed to get smaller as Adam walked in and over to her. She knew how badly she had messed things up and the Cartwrights especially Adam she was hoping would be her salvation.

"You're the one who should probably be horse whipped. Do you have any idea what you've done? Dave isn't the same man any more. He was a decent man even if you decided you didn't want to be with him any more. But now we have to deal with the aftermath. Annie wants me to give you the money so you'll leave. It's a matter now of how much?"

"I don't have anywhere to go. I guess the money isn't as important as having a place to live where I can raise my son. I could live with my parents, but since my father got hurt in the mine, they hardly have enough to feed themselves."

As Adam stood rubbing his forehead as he thought, Annie stepped beside him and took his arm. "Can we find some work for her father to do so that the family has enough money to live?"

"We could probably find some odd jobs for him to do to keep the family fed. We could also keep him on a retainer over the winter. Yes, so that that innocent child doesn't suffer, we can do enough, but that still doesn't solve the problem of Dave. Sue, you told Annie he contacted Poole. Do you know if Poole agreed to come here and do it?"

"I don't know. Dave just yelled that out to me during one of his outbursts."

"All right, I'll talk with my father tomorrow. You go to your parents' house in town, and we'll make arrangements by tomorrow to work this out. You do need to tell Dave the truth though or at least as much of it as you told us. I would guess that the whole truth will make him ready to leave you be, and that might settle all of this."

"I will if I can find him and he's sober. He's never sober when he comes home so waiting at the ranch for him is not a good idea. I'll try to find him in town in the morning and see if he'll listen to me."

With that, Sue took her leave after apologizing profusely for everything she had done and thanking them for still being willing to help her. She said she had no one else who could help. The tears and apologies seemed real, but with Sue, Adam knew it was best to be a bit skeptical. Annie agreed as did Ben when they explained the situation to him later.

Once Ben had returned home, Adam had told Annie and Ben about his conversations with Candy and with Will. He left out the news about the miscarriages that Laura had had because he didn't know if Will meant him to share that with his family. The three of them agreed that they would work out the details in town the next day. That night in bed, Annie asked Adam if there was anything more he had to tell her so he explained about Poole. She had forgotten how worried he had looked upon hearing that name, and with his explanation, she shivered. Her fear that something would happen to Adam at the hands of Poole made her scared and the nausea that had left her alone for a few days reappeared. Adam got her some tea, and when she finished that, he rubbed her back until she fell asleep. Then he laid beside her and pulled her close to him, but stared at the moonbeam shining in the room and slept little the rest of the night worrying about Poole and Dave and what they might do.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Adam, no, don't do this!"

"Pa, I have to. Please don't interfere. You'll only make things worse."

So Ben stayed in the crowd that was gathering on the side of the street watching Poole and Adam face off. They had talked the night before and again that morning about the situation with Sue and Dave. The three of them had come to town to pick up supplies and make the arrangements that were needed. As Ben had walked out of the bank after getting the cash they would need, he saw Adam standing in the street facing Poole. Ben's heart began to pound, and all he could think about was stopping this gunfight before he would have to see his oldest son wounded or killed.

Standing in the morning sun in that street, Adam felt sweat running down his back even though the day was mild. He remembered being shot before with the force of the bullet slamming into him like a small steel fist and the searing heat of it entering his flesh followed by waves of pain radiating throughout his body it seemed. He knew Poole was an excellent marksman and wondered if a shot to his heart would be less painful for he might not have time to feel the pain before his life ended. But Annie would be alive because he had realized when he saw Dave standing there with an arm around her neck and a pistol to her ear that she was more important to him than his own life. Dave and his friends had walked behind them into the mercantile. They hadn't even realized they were being followed. What had started as a routine trip to town for supplies and to take care of their other errands had become this life and death scenario. Adam knew he could not defend himself against Poole. It was not only the threat that Dave would shoot Annie in the head if Poole failed. His arm was mostly useless after being hit by Dave's friends. They had hit his upper arm several times and a whack by an axe handle had numbed his hand and probably had broken a bone in his forearm. He had not been able to retaliate for fear of what Dave would do to Annie if he did. As a result, he would not be able to draw. He had tried to talk them out of what they were bent on doing but had failed at that too.

"Dave, guys, you may see me killed but you'll all be locked up. It's not just Annie's testimony that will send you to prison. All the other people in this store will know what you did and tell the story. Dave, there must be another way. Think about it."

"No, that's all I been doing is thinking about it. Everybody is laughing at me. My wife was stolen by Adam Cartwright right under my nose. I can't let that go. I can't. Now get outside. Poole's waiting for you."

So now Adam stood in the center of the street facing Poole knowing he would likely die soon. After what seemed to be a long time but was only about a minute, Poole told Adam that they would draw on the count of three. He counted off in a slow cadence and the crowd was silent expecting to see a man die before them. On three, Poole drew but Adam did not. He had his hand on the butt of his pistol but did not draw it even though Poole was pointing his weapon directly at Adam's chest aiming for a kill shot.

Bent on finding Dave and telling him the truth finally, Sue had come from her parents' home. Frozen into immobility by the sight she saw in front of her, she looked around wondering where Dave could possibly be. When she heard what the two men said next, she had an idea of where he was and began edging around the two men standing in the street.

"Why won't you draw?"

"I can't."

As Poole walked closer with his gun pointed at Adam's chest, he saw that Adam had rapidly developing bruises on his face which was also bloodied. "What happened?"

"Poole, you have to shoot me. He'll kill my wife if you don't shoot me."

"Why didn't you draw if you wanted that?"

"I can barely lift my arm and my hand is numb. Dave's friends made sure I couldn't win. They were very enthusiastic about their work, but Poole you have to shoot me. Please? My wife's life depends on it."

There was a collective gasp and then silence from the crowd after they heard Adam's explanation. A few then yelled at Poole that it wasn't a fair fight hoping to dissuade him from shooting Adam. From the door of the vacant store, Dave stepped out holding Annie tightly against him with an arm around her neck and a pistol pointed at her temple. It was clear to everyone then even those who had just arrived and not heard the conversation why Adam was in the street facing Poole's challenge even though he couldn't draw his pistol.

"Shoot him, Poole. That was our deal. You shoot him down like the dog he is." Annie's face was red and her eyes were full of fear and anger, but there was nothing she could do. Dave was a powerful man, and his madness now drove him.

"I've never shot a helpless man in my life." Poole's eyes flicked from Adam to Dave and back again. It was an awkward position. He had made a deal with Dave Anderson to get Adam Cartwright into a gunfight. For only a minimum fee, Poole had agreed to Dave's offer. Poole felt he needed to defeat Adam because all those years ago this cowboy had beaten him to the draw. But then he and his father and brother had seen to Poole's medical care. He would not murder the man for that's what it would be if he shot him now.

"Why does he get to have everyone backing him and turning on me? Why?" Dave flung Annie aside and she crashed into the wall of the mercantile and dropped to the walk stunned. Then he pointed his pistol at Adam who was only about ten feet away.

"No, Dave, please don't. Adam's not the father. I just wanted to get money from him. It was ..." but that man would never be named because Sue ran into the line of fire as Dave pulled the trigger, and the bullet meant for Adam tore into her chest narrowly missing her son. Poole fired and his shot hit Dave dead center. Dave fell to his knees looking at his wife in the street. She had fallen backwards and her son had fallen from her arms as blood spurted from her chest for a moment and then stopped. Dave fell forward onto his face then. The only sound was the wailing of the forlorn and terrified child and the sound of a woman sobbing.

Staggering over to the walk in front of the mercantile, Adam called softly to Annie. She turned to look at him realizing that her worst fear had not been realized. Adam reached out his left arm and Annie pushed herself to stand and go to him, but then the two of them collapsed to the walk from all of the stress and physical abuse they had suffered. Adam sat cradling Annie with his left arm as she cried softly with her head buried against his chest. Poole walked to Adam who held his wife with one arm as the other hung at his side.

"I've never seen anything like that. You were gonna let me shoot you down to save your wife's life. You're something else, Cartwright. Someday we'll meet again. I'd still like to see which one of us would walk away from a fair fight now."

All Adam could do was nod. He had no snappy comebacks for his mind was blank. Ben walked up to Poole as he left.

"Mr. Poole, you're a gun for hire if I'm correct in my assumption."

"I am, Mr. Cartwright, but I don't break the law and I don't murder anyone."

"Mr. Poole, that's good to know. I would like to hire you for a job. How does five thousand dollars sound?"

"I'm surprised. I wouldn't have ever thought a man like you would pay a hired gun to do a job for him."

"I'll pay you five thousand dollars, and all you have to do is one thing, and it doesn't involve shooting anyone."

A little skeptical, Poole just raised an eyebrow and waited for the rest.

"I have that money with me right now. I'll pay you to stay out of Virginia City and not challenge my son to a gunfight. He's had enough. He's not a gunfighter. Is it a deal?" Ben held out the envelope of money that he and Adam had planned to give to Sue Anderson to enable her to leave town or to help support her if she chose to live with her parents. They would still offer Mr. Maitland some work so that he could support himself and his wife. Ben wondered suddenly if they would now have to care for their daughter's baby as well. His mind was snapped back to the moment as Poole took the envelope from his hand.

"I accept your terms and payment, Mr. Cartwright. Your son has nothing to fear from me ever again. I'll leave up to you to tell him that if you wish. Thank you, and goodbye." Poole mounted up and rode out of town. Roy had wanted to speak with him about the shooting but there were plenty of witnesses without him.

Walking back to Adam and Annie, Ben stood for a moment as the two of them worked to regain their composure. Once they stood, he told them he would walk with them to Doctor Martin's office. Adam objected, but Ben pointed out that his arm looked broken and Paul could splint it and wrap it for the ride back home. He could hardly object to that. Sitting in Paul's office later, Adam was not surprised when Roy walked in and wanted his statement. It was up to Roy to settle the whole matter finally and legally. With the statements from witnesses, Roy only needed corroboration from Adam and Annie to put this whole sorry story behind them. He did have one bit of news that surprised them though.

"The Maitlands have that baby now, but they said they can't take care of him. They want somebody to adopt that little boy. Poor little fella needs a home."

Looking at Adam with hope in her eyes, Annie saw that Adam was not going to jump at this chance. She planned to work on him about it though. Adam had the same question in his mind as his father but Ben asked first.

"Do they have any idea who the father is?"

"Her parents is in the dark as much as anybody was. I got a suspicion though. I'm gonna have a talk with a young man later and see what I can find out."

Refusing a sling for his splinted forearm, Adam did ask for his jacket. He felt chilled even though the weather was mild. Doctor Martin said it was a sign of shock, and warned him against doing anything too strenuous for a day or two. He had found that Adam had one cracked bone in his forearm, and a lot of swelling which was why his hand was numb. He was back on orders for light duty. Paul also had cleaned up the small abrasions on Annie's face and arm from being slammed into the wall of the mercantile by Dave. The bruising around her neck seemed to get worse by the minute. Paul could find nothing wrong though other than that. Ben got her shawl for her, and then escorted her to the carriage that she and Adam had used to ride into town. Adam climbed in, and with some help from Annie was able to get the team turned toward home. Ben said he was going to pay that visit to the Maitlands and then catch up to them.

As Adam drove the carriage into the yard at home, Hoss and Joe came out of the house to greet them. Having been away on a cattle drive for weeks, they had no idea of the events that had embroiled Adam and his wife. Adam climbed down and offered his hand to help Annie down.

"Well where you two been?" Hoss walked up and slapped Adam on the arm making him groan and lean against the carriage. "What's wrong? I only gave you a little tap. Your arm must be better by now." Then Hoss noticed the red marks on Annie's face and the bruising around her neck. "Dadburnit, what's been going on around here?"

Putting Adam's left arm around her shoulders, Annie began to walk to the house. "Come on inside. There's a lot to tell." Adam and Annie sat on the settee and told Hoss and Joe what had happened. Neither said anything until they were done talking.

"So Sue caused all of this because she was unhappy in her marriage. Now she's dead, Dave's dead, and that baby is all alone. It's really a shame. I'm sorry Hoss and I weren't here to help. Sounds like you could have used some help."

"Joe's right. We're real sorry we wasn't here to help out. Is there anything we can do for you now?"

Walking in the door about that time because his talk with the Maitlands took longer than expected, Ben was happy to see all of his present family sitting together. He walked over and sat down to tell them his news. "I'm so glad to see all of my family safe and sound. I met with Sue's parents. Mr. Maitland has agreed to do harness repair and other odd jobs for us. That will get him enough to support the two of them. Roy was right though. He wants to place Sue's baby for adoption though. He says the two of them have enough worries with his disability and her arthritis that they don't think they could take care of a baby." Looking directly at Adam and Annie then, Ben continued. "They asked me to tell you that they think the two of you would be great parents for that baby if you were willing."

Ben's words hardly penetrated at first because Adam and Annie were still in some shock over the events of the morning. Hoss and Joe looked at the couple expectantly hoping they would say yes. To them, it sounded like a perfect solution. Annie looked at Adam with a smile hoping he was feeling the same way, but it was all too obvious that he wasn't.

"We can talk about it later, privately." Annie knew that the subject was closed with him until he had time to think it through. That night as they lay in each other's arms seeking comfort, Annie asked him if he was ready to talk about it. He said he wasn't and only wanted time with her.

"Can we talk about it tomorrow? We aren't going to do anything about it tonight anyway."

"I wish you would talk with me when you're like this. I feel like you're shutting me out."

Repositioning himself so that he could look directly into Annie's eyes, Adam looked down at her. "Sweetheart, I'm not. It's just that right now my thoughts are not coherent. I think one thing and then another. Looking down the barrel of Poole's pistol this morning has unnerved me a bit. I thought I was going to die. I thought I was leaving you all alone. I stood there and couldn't control the situation at all. I felt so helpless. I can't think about the baby until I get a chance to sort out all those feelings and thoughts."

"Thank you."

Confused, Adam looked for signs of whatever thought or emotion had driven that statement of gratitude. All he could tell was that Annie was smiling. "Why did you thank me?"

"You were honest with me. You told me what you were thinking. When you do that, I feel that you love me even more. Now if you think your arm can take it, will you make love with me? I want to be as close to you as I can get, and I can't think of a better way."

"Sweetheart, I'd have to be almost dead to say no to that offer." Adam leaned in to kiss Annie and she ran her hands over his bare chest and shoulders. Soon they were finding even more pleasure and comfort in each other's arms. Conversation was definitely being left for the next morning.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Annie, if we adopt this baby, then some people might think that Dave's accusations were true." Adam was taking Annie to see Doctor Martin. He was concerned that even after the stress had been reduced, she was still having trouble sleeping and had occasional bouts of nausea. It was three days after the incident with Poole and Dave in town. Annie had dark circles under her eyes, and was quite pale. The bruises on her neck were fading to green and brown. They had discussed adopting the Anderson baby quite a lot with no resolution because they didn't agree.

"Is that what you're worried about? Adam, this innocent baby needs a family, and I have a lot of love to give to him. To me, that's all that's important. Your reputation will recover. Your friends and family already know what's true and what's slanderous."

"I'm really trying to find reasons to convince you not to adopt this baby. It just doesn't feel right to me. I don't think we're ready to have a baby in our lives. You need to see the doctor first to see why you've been sick so often lately because you can't even think about adopting the baby if you're not in the best of health. Babies are a lot of work." Adam's heart was heavy as he worried that there was something seriously wrong with his wife. Witnessing his father's loss of two wives, and his own loss of Sue Ellen and Ruth as well as other failed relationships had made Adam pessimistic about a woman being with him. Annie's nausea and sleeplessness had triggered a lot of the old fears which probably amounted to a phobia by then.

"Oh, and how many babies have you had that you can make that pronouncement?"

"None, but I did a lot to help with Hoss especially after his mother was killed. It was a full time responsibility. Then when Joe was born, I was old enough to see how much work it was for Marie and how exhausted she was at the end of a day."

"Well, I'm pretty strong. I think I could handle it just fine."

"I know you are, but I also had another talk with Will, and he talked about their trouble with trying to have a baby. It's always on his mind, I guess. He wanted to know how everything was with us too. Then he said that he and Laura might be interested in adopting the baby."

"What kind of trouble and why would they adopt?"

"Those two answers are closely related. Laura has had three babies she has lost. Will said they have messed up her system quite a bit. The doctor has said that perhaps Laura will not be able to carry another child to term. Will is thinking that adopting this baby might be the best solution. It will give her a baby to love, and she can relax about having a baby."

"Yes, sometimes you do hear about people adopting and then having a baby. I guess that would be a better plan." Annie reluctantly agreed with Adam's logic, but then her own failure to have a child was back in the forefront for her. "Is that why Laura and Will have been so unhappy?"

Nodding, Adam wrapped an arm around Annie. He knew that she had the same sadness as Laura, but Laura had a child already. It accentuated what was a key difference between the two women. Annie bore her infertility and managed to live a fulfilling life despite it. Laura dwelled on what she could not have and made those around her suffer too. As Adam and Annie arrived at Doctor Martin's office, she was very quiet and said little even as they greeted Paul. They were still standing by the door of the office when they heard Roy hail them. He had news he thought they would want to know.

"Two days ago in the morning, Daniel Lash junior was found hanging in the stable at the back of his house. The family's hired hand who takes care of their yard and horses found him. He killed himself."

Annie was shocked. It seemed there was news of some kind of violent and tragic event every time they came to town. Perturbed that Roy would bring up another violent end when Annie had suffered through so much, Adam wondered why Roy was telling them. "Ray, why did you think you had to tell us that? Annie doesn't need to hear any more bad news."

"Well, now, you see I had my suspicions about who was the father of Sue Anderson's baby. I had seen her talking with young Daniel several times. Then I realized I had never seen her talking with another man except at a dance or such. So I went to see him. We talked privately and he said he wasn't the father of that baby, but I think he was lying. You know how when someone is lying they don't look at ya and they fidget around a lot. Well that was him. His wife is a harpy too but her pappy has a lot of money, probably more than Lash senior does. They don't have children either. Well now today he's dead. Kinda leads me to believe he must have been the father."

"So you think that there won't be a problem with someone adopting that baby because both parents are gone now?"

"That's about it, Annie. Just wanted you to know. Now I got to move around town and see that everything is all right. I hope there's nothing seriously wrong with either of you seeing as how you're at the doc's again."

"I'm fine, Roy, but Adam is worried about me and wants Paul to check me over again."

After bidding them adieu, Roy moved off to take his morning tour of town. Paul asked Adam and Annie why they were there, and after Adam's explanation, he asked Annie to go into an exam room. Adam stretched out in one of the chairs in the office area and waited for the doctor to complete the examination. He prayed that there was nothing seriously wrong.

Inside the exam room, Paul had Annie disrobe behind a curtain and then wrap a blanket around herself. He had a suspicion as to what was bothering her, and needed her to do that. Then he had her get on an exam table and lie down. Once he finished his exam, Annie was first shocked, then angry, then upset, and finally sitting in stunned silence. Her only thoughts were of Adam and how he would react when the doctor gave him the news. It didn't take long. Adam walked into the exam room looking almost as pale as Annie. Paul walked in behind them.

"How could this have happened? She doesn't have her flow."

"I already asked him that, Adam. He said it only takes one. I have one or two a year. Apparently that's enough."

"How far along is she then?"

"At least three or four months but it could be as much as five months. You need to start getting ready to welcome a baby into your family."

Paul waited. He suspected that in a very short time, there would be joy, but first they had to get past the shock. "Annie, when did you first start having these bouts of nausea?"

"About two months ago and then it got worse, but lately it's been not as often or as bad. Usually it's just a kind of queasy stomach now."

"That points to the four or five month range then. I think you're done with morning sickness. Your body is adjusting. You will need to avoid stress and probably don't eat any spicy foods. That's probably what's been giving you the queasy stomach, and when you have that problem in your stomach and lower, it makes it difficult to sleep. Drink some of Hop Sing's green tea in the evening, and keep those evening meals small."

"I get hungry late, and Adam brings me a snack. Is that all right?"

"I think hot chocolate and a cookie would be fine. Don't eat anything too heavy or greasy that might upset your stomach. Most people think hot chocolate helps them sleep anyway, so that might be a good thing to try."

"Is there anything else we need to do?"

"Adam, I've already talked with Annie about that. Relations are fine as long as you like the traditional and gentle. For the next three months, that should be it. Then in the last month, there needs to be abstinence so you don't trigger an early labor. No horseback riding or anything strenuous for Annie would be the last warning I can give you. Otherwise, Annie is strong and healthy so just prepare for a baby and enjoy the anticipation and the peace and quiet."

"Adam, your father is going to be so happy."

Finally, Adam grinned. Yes, he knew his father would be overjoyed. His brothers would probably be rather excited too. Suddenly he couldn't wait to leave so they could go tell everyone, except once they were in the carriage and headed out of town, they kissed and hugged which caused Adam to drive the carriage off the road and into a meadow almost as soon as they reached the Ponderosa. They had picked up a lunch to go because Annie was hungry, but they didn't want to stay in town to eat.

"Now? You want to stop here and do it now?"

"We have a lap blanket from the carriage, a picnic lunch, a beautiful meadow, and a gorgeous day. What better way to celebrate our news with each other?"

With no argument with that logic, Annie climbed down from the carriage with Adam waiting to hold her. He ran his hand over her lower abdomen but couldn't tell if there was a bump there or not.

"There is. I thought I was eating too much and gaining weight. Well that's probably true, but now I know why I was gaining weight there. Oh, Adam, this is a dream come true for me."

Throwing her arms around Adam's neck, Annie pulled him down for a kiss. He kissed her deeply for a long time. Then he released her so he could get the carriage blanket that he spread on the grass near the carriage. Then he turned to Annie who laid down demurely on the blanket and patted the empty space beside her. Grinning, he joined her there, and the two of them celebrated their joy and love for each other in the most ancient of ways. When they finished, they lay languidly entwined on the blanket until they heard two horses approaching. Then they hurriedly pulled their clothing back together and straightened everything as best they could in a hurry. Adam stood to pull the lunch from the carriage as Hoss and Joe rode up.

"We rode over cause we saw the carriage stopped here and knowing you was worried about Annie's health, we figured we ought to see ifn you needed help. It seems you're not worried about Annie any more."

"Oh, Hoss, we got such good news from the doctor. Hoss, Joe, we're going to have a baby!"

Both brothers swung down off their horses then and grabbed one of the two in a hug and then switched. Hoss slapped Adam on the back so hard he almost knocked him over because Adam still had the splint on his arm and needed to grab for the carriage across his body with his left hand.

"Ah, sorry about that older brother, but dadburnit, I'm just so blamed happy. I thought you two thought you couldn't have a baby."

"Big brother, we did think that, but we were wrong."

"Boy howdy, Joe, this is a great day. Adam and Annie are gonna have a baby, and Adam done admitted he was wrong about something."

"Yeah, we oughta get going, Hoss. I want to be there when they tell Pa. He's going to be tickled pink. Maybe he'll stop pressuring us to find a gal and get married."

"Nah, maybe for a while, but he'll be back at it in no time. We'll see you two back at the house. Have a nice picnic." Laughing deeply then, Hoss rode to join Joe who was already galloping away.

Soon Adam and Annie were on their way home as well. Lunch had been delicious, but they were both so hungry by then, they devoured the food in minutes. Annie was hoping Hop Sing had some donuts or cookies because dessert seemed like it would be appropriate considering the occasion and the fact that she was still hungry. The nausea had vanished with the news. Apparently the stress of their discussions about adopting the Anderson baby had been causing the problem. She felt wonderful as they drove home. Ben was in the house and Cochise and Chubb were tied up outside. Adam helped Annie from the carriage and they walked arm-in-arm to the house. Once inside, Ben had guessed their news before they could actually say it. The excited looks of Hoss and Joe who had brought Jeremy into the house with them, and the glowing smiles of Adam and Annie left little to guesswork. After congratulations and questions, Ben went to tell Hop Sing the news and ask him to prepare a meal for a celebration. Then he added that Annie would like some cookies and tea if it wouldn't be too much trouble. Although Hop Sing fussed at Ben for that request, he was all smiles when he brought a plate of cookies and cup of tea out to the great room.

"Mister Hoss and Mister Jeremy no eat cookies until Missy Annie eat all she want. Hop Sing have no more, so men must let lady eat first."

All the men agreed even though the aroma of those cookies made them all hungry. Annie couldn't take the looks so she grabbed three cookies, and then told them they could have the rest. Smiling in triumph, she realized she had that power over the men now, and she got three cookies to one for each of them too. This being with child thing could work out well for her she thought. Dinner was similar with Hop Sing serving Annie first instead of Ben, and making sure she had anything she wanted. By the end of dinner, she was stuffed and asked if it would be all right if she lay on the settee and read for a time. Of course everyone agreed that would be fine.

Thinking that his father wasn't as happy about their news as they had expected, Adam followed him outside when Ben said he needed a little night air. Walking out about a minute behind Ben, Adam saw his father leaning on the corral fence with his head down. Quietly Adam walked up beside him and waited.

"You always know when something is wrong, don't you?"

"I try to pay attention. What's wrong, Pa? I thought you would be dancing a jig knowing you were going to be a grandfather."

"I am in my heart, but my mind is full of worry about another matter. I found out something this morning that I have been thinking about all day."

"What is it? You know we'll help you with anything that could be wrong. You're not going to shock me with anything especially after everything that happened lately."

Shaking his head and wondering how his sons would actually react to the predicament in which he had mired himself, Ben only could say a few words before he choked up. "It's not exactly something that is wrong. It's just a terrible predicament from which I see no escape. Son, I'm going to be a father again."

"Pa, that's wonderful isn't it? We thought you were seeing someone, but we had no idea it had gotten so serious. Are you going to tell us who it is now?"

Feeling as miserable as he could imagine, and downright embarrassed too to have to admit that he had violated a rule they all held sacred, Ben also shocked Adam who thought he couldn't be shocked. "It's just that the situation is far more complicated than that. My reputation and the reputation of this family is going to be smeared with scandal. The slander against you is going to seem like child's play compared to this. Oh, Adam, I've fallen in love with a married woman."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

That night, Adam didn't sleep well. Annie felt him tossing and turning and that interrupted her sleep as well. She assumed that there Adam needed some time to adjust to his new status as an expectant father, but she hoped that he would sleep better the following night because she was exhausted when it was time to get up. Adam told her she should just stay in bed, but she didn't want to get in that habit. Then when they got to the breakfast table, conversation between Adam and his father was negligible. Annie had expected that they would have all sorts of things to say about the baby who would be arriving in about four months. Hoss and Joe more than made up for the lack of conversation by the other two men.

"Hey, Annie, is Adam going to want to name him William Shakespeare Cartwright if it's a boy? Or maybe he would like Macbeth better." Chuckles and laughter followed each suggestion each more outlandish than the previous.

Hop Sing had made a gargantuan breakfast for them and was disappointed it wasn't all eaten. Hoss took more then.

"Hop Sing, everything was delicious and wonderful to smell as well as see. You did a marvelous job preparing and presenting the meal, but I just can't eat any more. This little baby isn't as hungry as I thought. Perhaps, I could have some of these flaky golden biscuits later as a snack, and then perhaps some of those juicy ham slices for lunch?" Annie's praise had the desired effect, and Hop Sing readily agreed to her suggestion. He grabbed the plate of biscuits and platter of ham returning to the kitchen with a smile.

"Why don't you talk to me like that?"

"You don't give me flapjacks with honey for breakfast whenever I ask."

"I'm not much of a cook, but I thought I gave you other things you like."

"Oh yeah, you gave me this baby who made me sick for two months and now it's going to make me fat, thank you so very much for that." It was sassy but delivered with a smile so it only made Adam shake his head as his brothers roared with laughter. Then the three brothers headed out for the day's work as Ben headed to his desk to work. Annie pulled out the curtains she was sewing. They were nearly done, and now she realized she would need to start working on items for the nursery. She was thinking for a time as she worked, and then walked over to talk to Ben who seemed to be staring at the ledgers instead of working on them.

"Papa Ben, I have a few questions."

"Yes, dear, can I help?"

"I hope so. Is there a cradle here, or are we going to need to get one?"

"There's a cradle in the attic. We had one for Joseph. There's a small trundle bed up there too. I seem to recall that there might even be some gowns up there packed away. They might be too old to use, but you could use them as patterns for new ones."

"Oh good. Then as soon as I look those over, I'll need to go to town to get some fabric. Which room do you think we should use for a nursery? I want to make curtains too."

"Well, you and Adam might want to talk about moving into the larger guest room upstairs. It has an adjoining door to the smaller guest room. It would make a small family suite if you wanted to do that."

"That's a wonderful idea. Yes, I'll talk to Adam about that. Is there something else bothering you? I thought you would be more excited about the baby."

"Yes, I do have some things on my mind. I'm just trying to think through how to handle some things."

"Is it Michelle?"

Almost jumping with the shock of Annie saying her name, Ben could only stare at his daughter in law.

"It wasn't that hard for me to guess. You slipped a little in the restaurant one day too calling her Michele instead of Madame Fourier, but I already wondered because Adam said he thought you were seeing someone secretly, and when Michele and I talked, she always had questions about you interspersed with the expected ones about Adam. Then there was the way she looked at you and you at her whenever you met."

"I'm glad that my son married you. He certainly found his intellectual match."

"Are you upset about the baby because I thought you would be overjoyed?"

"I am filled with joy. I used to worry so much that Adam would leave to seek out his future somewhere in the world. Then when he married you, I wondered if the two of you would go or stay. Now that you're having a baby, he's all excited about being here with family in the only real home he's ever known. I am filled with joy."

"But?"

"Did Adam tell you?"

"Tell me what? Oh, I know something is bothering him, but I thought he was just trying to get used to the idea that he was going to be a father. Is there something more because you know how well that man can keep a secret?"

"We met at first because we were both lonely. She is married, but her husband left her years ago. I hadn't found any woman to be with me, and I was lonely for female companionship. We enjoyed time together talking and laughing. We read and liked some of the same books, and she reads newspapers as avidly as Adam and I do so there was so much to discuss. We would talk, have a meal together, and sometimes take a walk. That's all there was until I lost my good sense one day and kissed her. I knew it was wrong, terribly wrong, but I just couldn't stop myself."

"Where is her husband?"

"In San Francisco as far as she knows. He moves around a lot. They have no children, and he has had numerous women from all sorts of backgrounds. It was his appetite for other women that caused them to separate."

"How long ago?"

"Just before she came here so about ten years ago. She couldn't bear the humiliation of everyone knowing her husband was jumping from one woman's bed to another."

"Why don't they just divorce and get it over with?"

"They're Catholic. He will not consent to a divorce, and she thinks it's a sin to even contemplate it."

"There must be more for you to be this upset. Otherwise you could just keep going on as you have been." Annie thought for just a moment and then gasped. "Is Michelle going to have a baby too?"

"Now you know the depth of my shame over the humiliation I have brought to my family and to the woman I love. I can't see a solution. I will have a child that the law will consider a bastard and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Did you explain all of this to Adam?"

"No, I got the first part out, and I know I shocked him. That's not easy to do as you probably already know. I couldn't bring myself to tell him the rest. You're easier to talk to about this. I don't worry that I'll see condemnation in your eyes. You're very good at this. Have you thought about joining the clergy because you have a gift?"

"No, I think that I'm just fine right where I am. But I do think you need to tell Adam or really all of your sons everything. If I guessed, there must be other women who have guessed. Rumors may already be spreading. We were so engrossed in this other drama, we didn't pay attention, but I would think it's already an item of conversation among our town gossips."

"How could they know?"

"Papa, I assume Michele comes to meet you regularly. Well as soon as she leaves town like that and heads toward the Ponderosa, they already had some clues. She's too much older than Joe and Hoss would be more open about a relationship. Adam was already taken, so they would naturally have assumed it was you. How old is she, by the way, because I've wondered?"

"She's quite a bit younger than I am. She's only five years older than Adam."

There was the sound of a horse in the yard then. Ben wondered if it was one of his sons but Annie said it wasn't as she went to answer the door. Ben told her to wait so he could answer the door. It was Will, and with one eyebrow crooked up in a question, he looked at Annie.

"I can tell their horses apart. It didn't sound like any of them."

"Adam said your hearing is remarkable, and it is quite discerning as well. Will, welcome. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well, Uncle, there is. I want to sell my ranch to you. Laura and I are adopting the Anderson baby."

"Congratulations! That's great news, but why do you want to sell the ranch?"

"Ben, I was never cut out to be a rancher. There are some job opportunities in California, and now that Laura has a baby to love, she's agreeable to moving. We'll be much closer to her Aunt Lil, and she likes that idea a lot. Peggy will miss all of you especially Adam, but this way I think we'll get closer and be a real family especially with the baby."

"I'll talk with the boys, but I can't see that any of them would have an objection. We could meet in town tomorrow if that's agreeable, and work out all the details. The boys are all in the southeast pasture if you want to ask them yourself and give them your news."

"There's one other thing, Ben. I know you asked Will Maitland to do odd jobs around here. But he and his wife were a bit upset to learn we were planning to move to California, so Laura and I invited them to come with us. I'll be traveling a lot in my job, and Will can handle all the chores around our home when I'm gone. Will's wife Clara will probably find the warmer climate better for her arthritis, and Laura will have some help and some company too. They're willing to become the grandparents in the family to their own grandson and to give Peggy more of an extended family. I think that's important."

"Will, it sounds as if you have worked out a wonderful solution for everyone. I'm sure my boys would agree."

Smiling because Ben still referred to his sons as boys, Will agreed to do that and left. Annie asked if she could ride into town with them the next day so she could do some shopping for fabric, and of course she wanted to share her news with Michele, and she expected that Adam would be telling his friends too.

"Papa, you need to talk with your sons about your other concerns before you go into town. It would be cruel for them to find out by someone's ugly remark, and you know that's possible."

"Would you tell Adam? He knows quite a bit already but you can fill in the rest. I'll talk with Hoss and Joe separately."

Nodding, Annie got back to her sewing, but her mind was in a whirl. She understood how Ben could not concentrate. It was quite a mess, and she hoped that when she and Adam talked that they might come up with some ideas because right then it seemed like there was no way out. Annie's talk with Adam went so much better than Ben's talk with his younger sons. Adam had been tempted more than once by married women. Seductive, beautiful women were not always satisfied with the one to whom they were married, and if there eyes were wandering, it wasn't unusual for them to wander in the direction of Adam Cartwright. He had been close to making that kind of mistake in his life, and understood how just a little change in circumstances could have landed him in the same kind of mess his father was in. He and Annie discussed it at length. She wanted to know who those married women were and he wouldn't tell her.

"You said we had to be honest with each other. Why won't you tell me? It seems kind of important to know what women are lusting after my husband."

"Only if you don't trust me." Adam stared her down after that one.

"I do trust you. Maybe I'm just a little insecure."

"I love you more than life itself. Haven't I proved that to you? I would never be with another woman now no matter what she does."

"I'm sorry for doubting you. Can I blame the fact that I'm with child and acting all emotional now?" She grinned at him looking up and batting her eyelashes.

"I'll let you get away with that one, but never question my love for you. Trust me and love me, and we can face anything together."

Then Annie mentioned the move to the adjoining guest rooms that Ben had suggested, and Adam thought it was a fine idea. It would no inconvenience anyone else, and it would give them a private area.

"Do you think we'll ever have a house of our own?"

"Sweetheart, I didn't know you wanted one."

"Well, the biggest reason is Jeremy, I guess. I would like him to be able to live like part of the family and not in the bunkhouse."

"All right, we can start thinking about some options then. If you want it to be soon, then Will and Laura's house will be available soon. If you want one built on a site we choose, that will take probably four to six months."

"Oh, so we could have a new house by the time the baby gets here."

"Maybe, it would be close. From your reaction, I guess that would be the option you prefer."

"Yes, living in Laura's house with all the memories wouldn't be good. I really would like a fresh start. I'll talk to Jeremy tomorrow to see what he would like to do."

"It's a plan. I want to talk with Pa yet tonight to see how things went with Hoss and Joe. My guess would be that it was pretty rough on him."

In that assumption, Adam was correct. Hoss thought he would never do anything like that nor could he even conceive of a situation in which he would be with a married woman. He hadn't been in anything like that so had no understanding. Joe was too young yet to see how complex situations like that could develop without either party realizing what was happening. Ben and Michele had meant to be friends and offer companionship and comfort to ease each other's loneliness. Neither had thought their relationship would develop into an affair nor that such a new relationship could so quickly result in a pregnancy. Michelle had never gotten pregnant with her first husband in the ten years she had been with him before the anger and bitterness of a loveless marriage caused their separation. She was distraught over her circumstances and thought she had no one to turn to for help. Ben knew he would have to go to her aid, and that would blow the whole scandal wide open exposing all of his family to ugly publicity. Adam listened and asked a few questions as the two sat up late talking and sipping brandy in front of the fire.

"Adam, shouldn't you be upstairs with your wife? I don't want to cause any problems for the two of you."

"Annie knows where I am and what I'm doing. Pa, tomorrow, I think I ought to be the one to go see Michele. I can go with Annie, and it will look quite normal to anyone who's being nosy. You and Will can go to the bank and the land office and get that all squared away. I don't know if it's a good idea for Hoss and Joe to come with us unless they've settled down by morning. They've got a lot to think about, but I saw them as I was coming down here, and they're hurt and resentful right now."

"Talking with them didn't go nearly as well as talking with you. You've never been in my situation, I hope."

"No, but I've been tempted, and I understand how it could have happened. Pa, it was so natural to happen, and yet I could understand why neither of you saw that. You so much wanted a friend and companion, you didn't look ahead far enough to see what the progression of your relationship would be. But now there's a baby to consider, and Michele's reputation as well as yours. Let me talk to her and see if there's something we could do."

"All right. You go see her. Maybe we can keep the gossip hounds at bay for a little while yet."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Joe, you have to give Pa some understanding. Any one of us can make a mistake, and we have. Why can't you see that Pa is suffering and needs us now?"

"He's always preached to us about the sanctity of marriage, and how we have to uphold the family reputation. Then he goes out and does this. How can I just ignore that?"

"Joe, what are you really upset about? I know you've been tempted just as I have by married women practically throwing themselves at you. You must realize that in this case, Pa and Michele were just planning to be friends. He didn't intentionally chase after a married woman."

"No, but Adam, she's going to have a baby. None of us have ever done anything like that."

"Haven't you ever been worried about that, Joe? Haven't you waited sometimes for the lady to say it was all right and she wasn't with child?"

At that, Hoss had to speak up. "You mean the two of you been having relations with women who don't work at those houses? You been messing with single gals you weren't gonna marry?" From the looks on their faces, Hoss knew it was true. "I guess I just always figured if that happened, I would marry the gal. I wouldn't wait to see if she was carrying my baby."

"Hoss, I never set out to do that, but if she was willing and wanted me to, I wasn't saying no."

"Does Annie know that?"

Shrugging his assent, Adam didn't know what to say. He had always assumed that Hoss had been intimate with some women too but hadn't realized it was only with the women who did that for a living. He looked over at Joe who shrugged too probably drawing all the same conclusions as well as agreeing with Adam's assessment of how he proceeded with women.

"We need to talk about Pa though. Now Michele is married, but she's been separated from her husband for ten years. He wanted to keep seeing other women when they married, and she put up with his adultery for ten years before she left. I'm going to go talk with her today and see what we might be able to do about all of this."

"Adam, what can anyone do? She's married to one man and carrying another man's child. No matter what, there's going to be a big mess, and the people are going to be talking and making nasty remarks all the time."

"Joe, I don't know, but there's got to be something we can do. I'll talk with Michele, and we'll go from there. Can the two of you at least be willing to listen and not make any more remarks to hurt Pa? He's suffering right now and could use some support instead of your disapproval. You know that if this was one of us, he'd be there at our side trying to help us through it."

That remark really hit home. Both Joe and Hoss nodded. They had made some unpleasant remarks at breakfast and then stomped out to the stable to do chores and commiserate with each other over how unpleasant things were going to get for them. Adam had made sure to remind them that is was their father who was suffering the most, and that he would have been upset with them if they had done the same but would have been at their side helping too. Breakfast had been unpleasant, but Adam hoped the tension would be reduced. He was worried too about Annie and didn't like this added stress either. He was going to do anything he could to make things better for all of them.

With Hoss and Joe helping, Adam quickly had the carriage ready to go. They saddled up Buck, Chubb, and Cochise too. When Ben and Annie came outside to go to town, Ben had tears in his eyes as he thanked his sons for their support.

"Pa, we jest needed some time to get used to the idea. We'll help any way we can."

"Thank you, Hoss."

"I'm with you, too, Pa. We'll see this through together, not that there won't be a few comments at your expense over the next few months."

"Months?"

Chuckling a little, Joe had to respond. "Well, weeks at least. You can't expect us to just let this go so easily. It's not often we get to do this."

The family rode together to town, and then split up with Adam and Annie going to see Michele and the others meeting Will at the bank. Michele's eyes were red rimmed and it was clear she had not slept much the night before. Ben had looked about the same at breakfast. Annie's heart almost broke knowing that the two of them should be with each other and comforting each other, but that wasn't possible at that point. With no one in the store, Adam got right down to business.

"We need to look like we're working on some purchases. We'll talk though. Michele, you told Pa that Jacques won't divorce you because you're Catholic and that you won't consider it either for the same reason. Have either of you considered annulment?"

"In the eyes of the Church, I think we would still be married because we had a religious marriage ceremony."

"But what if we could get the Church to annul the marriage?"

"Is that possible?"

"It is. It will be difficult, and in the religious court, you will be held responsible because you deserted your husband. But there are no children and you have been apart for ten years so as long as all the fees are paid, it should work as long as Jacques can be convinced to do it."

Michele's countenance which had been so hopeful dropped back into a hopeless sadness. "Jacques comes from a prominent family. I cannot see him doing this for me."

"Wouldn't an annulment and a chance for him to marry someone of status be important enough for him to consider this?"

"Jacques is very proud. He was so angry and humiliated when I left, I cannot see him willingly doing this."

"Tell me more about him. Tell me what he likes and dislikes."

Pausing for a time in thought, Michele told Adam what she thought he wanted to know. "He is proud as I said, and although he loves money dearly, he is amazingly generous to his friends. He enjoys the nightlife far more than the usual man. He angers easily but you would find it hard to tell for he never seems to lose his temper. His voice gets lower and his eyes narrow. Sometimes there is a nervous twitch by his right eye. I had to learn the signs because he is also a violent man, and although he would never go beyond the law, he would do whatever he could do legally. He has dueled men to the death, and beaten a man to death with his fists which was ruled self defense except the man was leaning against the bar unconscious when those last blows were struck. Jacques would not let him fall but hit him in the temple until he died. Then he calmly let him fall. It was all in the papers. The man's family was incensed, but there was nothing they could do. Jacques had to tone down his violence after that though because his family did not approve of such public displays. His parents have died leaving everything to him, but I would think he has used up a lot of that wealth already indulging his appetites. I have never seen him afraid of anything. He is arrogant and supremely confident in himself and his abilities."

Listening intently, Annie was suspicious. "Did he hurt you?"

Sighing deeply, Michele nodded.

"How badly?"

"I needed to see the doctor on a number of occasions. Other times, I hid the bruises as well as I could."

Standing next to Adam, Annie felt the tension in his body. He could not tolerate the thought of men hitting women. She would need to talk with him about this before he left for San Francisco because that is exactly what she thought he would do. He told Michele that he would speak with his father and work out a plan, but Annie suspected he already had a plan in mind based on the questions he had asked Michele.

"And Michele, I don't think that you and Pa ought to change your habits. Make the trips you usually would make, and do whatever you would usually do. The gossips will notice a change in behavior faster than anything else. Try to maintain the pretense you have labored so hard to uphold at least until we can do something about Jacques. Please?"

Agreeing with Adam's idea, Michele wrapped up a few items that Annie said she wanted to have on hand to wear as she grew larger with child. The mention of that made Michele look exceedingly sad again, and Annie gave her a hug just as several ladies entered the shop.

"Oh, Michele, there isn't anything wrong, is there?" The gossip mongers were eager for scraps at this point. Adam quickly announced though that he and his wife were expecting a child, but he said he hoped they would keep it just among themselves for a time because it was still four months away at least. They tittered, they smiled, agreed, and then hurried off to tell all of their friends probably.

"Thank you, Adam. That will keep their attention from me for a time I would think. I am so very happy for you too. I know that it was not something you expected, but I can see how joyous you are. Please, if there is anything I can do, let me know. I have patterns for baby gowns, and shawls for mothers to wear."

"Oh, Michele, would you help me with patterns? I want to sew some gowns but I've never done anything like that. I don't even know what fabrics to use."

"I will do that. I will get together some patterns, and some fabrics and thread for you to choose from. You can add ribbons and such later when you know it is a boy or a girl."

"That would be wonderful. How about Saturday? If you could come to the ranch, we could spend the day doing that. You could have lunch with us."

"I don't know about that. How will the rest of the family feel about me being there?"

"They will be fine. It will take some getting used to for all of us, and there's no time like the present to start."

With Michele's agreement to come to the ranch on Saturday, Adam picked up their packages and escorted Annie to the carriage. He headed the carriage to the bank expecting that his family should probably be nearly finished with the paperwork. As he arrived there, he was hailed from the front of the land office. Ben was there with Will.

"Everything is done. Will has the money and it's been deposited. The bank will handle the transfer to a California branch. The deed is on file now. The Anderson ranch is up for sale too. What do you think about buying that and renting it out?"

"That's a good investment. They have some wonderful pastureland that we could use if we decide to expand the herds. The pastures are also lower than some of ours and more accessible in the winter. I would think we could rent the farm buildings and a little land, but we could incorporate those pastures right away so we have them if we need them. With no timber and rather hilly though, I would think that there wouldn't be many interested buyers. Who's selling it?"

"James Cartwright."

Surprised at the name at first, Adam and Annie suddenly realized that Will and Laura's new son was the heir to that ranch. Will was smiling.

"We plan to put the money away in a trust fund for him. When he gets older, we'll tell him about his first parents. He'll already know his grandparents."

Everyone was thoughtful with that. The boy would have a lot to adjust to when he got all that information. It would be a tough job for Will and Laura to have to tell him what had happened, but he deserved to know so Adam was glad they would tell him the truth.

"We may have a cash flow problem after buying Will's ranch, but he's willing to have us make payments over the next several years because there's no rush to get the money. Will and Laura will be leaving on Saturday."

Annie was going to say something but Adam grabbed her elbow and turned her toward him. His look was all she needed to know that he didn't want her to say anything about Michele coming to work with her on Saturday and being there for lunch. As they stood there, the same ladies who had been in Michele's shop came up to them.

"Oh, congratulations on the baby, Mr. Cartwright. Adam told us the wonderful news. Never fear, we'll keep it hush hush until it is more proper to tell everyone. It is so wonderful that your eldest son has found a wife who can give him children. Now is there anyone special in your life?"

Looking to Adam as the ladies were interrogating him, Ben could tell that Adam had not said anything about he and Michele although of course the wouldn't have expected him to. It was just that the way they phrased the question had shaken him a little although no one could tell from his demeanor.

"We are all very happy for Adam and Annie, and we thank you for your kind thoughts. Now Will needs to get going. He has just sold his ranch, and he needs to get home and start packing so he and Laura and the two children can head to California on Saturday."

It was a nifty piece of deflection for the ladies suddenly wanted to know about Will and Laura instead of prying into Ben's life. Will mentioned his new job in California and being closer to Aunt Lil, and that the Maitlands were going with them. The ladies were beside themselves with the bonanza of exclusive information they had just gotten and couldn't wait to rush off to tell everyone and revel in their status as the preeminent sources of information in the town. As the ladies took their leave, Adam grinned at his father.

"That was magnificent. They won't be prying into your life for at least another day or two. As soon as Will and Laura drive that wagon through town though, watch out."

"Ya, Pa, you better not be in town for a while. Joe and me will just have to handle all them errands to town ya gotta make. We'll take turns, won't we, Joe?"

"Yeah, oh yeah, and we won't take any more time doing those errands than you would, Pa, honest."

"Yes, Joseph, I'm sure you won't because I will not be accepting your brother's offer. If there's anyone who will do some of those errands for me, it will be Adam."

"Ah, Pa, we need to talk about this at home. Maybe we ought to get going while the coast is clear."

That night on the Ponderosa around the dining table after dinner, Adam laid out his plan. It would cost them some significant money, and would probably require liquidating some investments but Adam had a plan for that too.

"We have had good years and lean years with those silver mine investments we made. We have no control over the price of silver or whether the government will buy it for coining money. Those investments could be liquidated easily if we offer the whole package to one of the big corporations. It's how silver mining is going anyway."

"I worry about those corporations, Adam. Are you sure this is the way you want us to go?"

"It's the way we need to go. We have to have that money, and we aren't going to give up any pastureland or timber. The prices for silver are high right now. We can sell for a good price. If we regret the decision, we only need wait until the price of silver drops again and those shares will plummet in price, and we can buy again for less than we sold these for."

"Pa, it sounds like a good plan all around to me. I vote to trust Adam on this one, and let him try to work out the deals he's talked about."

"I agree with Hoss, Pa. This sounds like the only way out of this mess if it works."

"All right then. I'll agree. How much time do you think this will take?"

"No more than a month, I hope. Maybe I could finish in two to three weeks if all goes well and everyone is agreeable."

Annie gasped a little at that. She had no idea Adam might be gone that long. That night, they made love as they usually did, but afterwards, Annie was a bit sad. Adam understood why but asked her if she saw any other way to help Ben and Michele. She had no ideas so she buried her head on Adam's chest and cried a little. He held her, and promised that if it took longer than two weeks, he would come get her and they would take another trip to San Francisco. That helped a lot, and the two of them snuggled in to sleep in each other's arms for the last time for a while.

The next morning after breakfast, Adam walked outside with Annie. The two stood holding each other for quite some time as if trying to memorize all the sensations of their embrace. Annie was sad but trying not to show it. When Adam kissed her goodbye though, she couldn't help herself and a tear ran down her cheek. Adam gently kissed it away and promised to be back as soon as he could. Ben watched the couple from the window by his desk, and the guilt that was weighting him down grew heavier.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

As Adam rode to town, he had second thoughts. Finally, he knew what he had to do. He turned his horse and rode home. When he arrived and walked inside, Ben looked at him in consternation but understood as soon as Annie rushed into Adam's arms.

"It would be wrong to leave you here to cope by yourself. I have to go now, but will you join me as soon as you can? You need to pack, and think about any commitments you have, but then I would like to see you heading my way. Perhaps Joe or Hoss could come with you?" Adam looked at Ben who nodded. They would not let Annie travel alone, but he already had an idea of who ought to escort her to California to meet Adam. Adam pulled Annie outside with him and kissed her soundly and with a lot more enthusiasm than he had earlier. The first parting had been bittersweet, but this time it was full of hope and promise. There were no tears except for tears of joy, and Annie was all smiles this time as she watched her husband mount up and ride away. Adam turned and gave her a jaunty salute before riding rapidly toward town. He still wanted to make the noon stage but would have to hurry now. Sport liked it when he got to run all out. He wouldn't be getting much exercise for some time so Adam thought it was a good thing. He would tip extra big at the livery in town so that they would wipe him down thoroughly and let him cool down with a walk.

The trip to San Francisco was routine. After settling into his hotel room, Adam went to meet with a lawyer first. He wanted to make sure everything could be done. He had gotten Michele's permission to legally act on her behalf, and the lawyer agreed to work with him. Next he contacted Jacques Fourier and asked to meet with him on a matter of importance. The next day at lunch, Adam was able to meet Jacques and take the measure of the man. Jacques ordered wine with his lunch and ate rich sauces with meat in them. He finished off his meal with a cigar. He offered one to Adam who declined.

"Now that we have had a fine meal, what is the matter of importance you wish to discuss with me?"

"I want to be honest with you from the start. I represent Michele Fourier." Adam saw Jacques' eyes narrow and there was a slight reddening to his face. Otherwise he remained quite calm. "She has an interest in having her marriage to you annulled by the Church. Because she abandoned you, it would be up to you to pursue an annulment."

"And why would I do such a thing? I cannot see a reason that I would want to do something to please my wife who has not been a wife to me for ten years and has forced me to seek comfort elsewhere and to have to endure the gossip of this town."

"There is certainly an expectation that you would not do this gratis. I am prepared to offer you five thousand dollars for the Church annulment and then another five for a civil divorce."

"That is a pittance! The fees the Church would demand from one such as myself would take that five thousand and I would have nothing."

"Then how about if we pay the fees to the Church, and you keep the whole five thousand for the annulment. I have engaged an attorney who could file the necessary divorce papers, and you could keep that entire five thousand as well."

"And what is your interest in my wife? Have you perhaps fallen for her witch's charms and now seek to have her for yourself?"

"No, I am married. I act on her behalf because she is a friend of my wife, and my wife is also close to the man Madame Michele would like to marry."

"And where would you get this money you promise me?"

"Madame Michele owns her own business and the man to whom she would like to be married is also a property owner. There is enough money to take care of this business, and free you to marry perhaps someone of a more prestigious social status than a dressmaker. You will be initiating both the annulment and the divorce so you would save face as the man who shunned the wife who created such a scandal for him."

"If it is so important to her and her new conquest, then I think that ten thousand for each would be appropriate."

"I will have to consult with my lawyer and others before I could consider a larger amount. But I have discerned that you are not opposed to the idea, and that may sway my clients into finding a way to procure the larger amounts. I cannot be sure that they would be able to pay twenty thousand dollars plus the fees to the Church, but I will see how much more they are willing to expend on this. Shall we say lunch again tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mister Cartwright, that would be acceptable. I will be here and willing to discuss your requests. Till we meet again, then. Good day to you, sir." Jacques stood and bowed. Then he and his retinue left the restaurant. Adam was smiling as they left. He had managed round one as well as he could have expected. Now he had to prepare for round two which he expected to be a more difficult step in the negotiations. Adam had a difficult time sleeping that night. In the morning, he rose early as he usually did and went for a walk. The exercise was good for him, and he ate a good sized breakfast before going to meet with his attorney who was a friend and former classmate. They had expected Jacques to request more money, but he had been bolder than they envisioned. They worked out a counteroffer for Adam to make as well as the supporting arguments he would need.

The second lunch was as agreeable as the first although Adam found he had a sour stomach as much as he did the first day as he watched Jacques shovel in the rich food. Adam knew what a despicable man he was but couldn't let his feelings show at all. He needed to appear to be the neutral party negotiating on behalf of another at his wife's behest. He was doing well because even as he sat there smiling at the small talk that seemed to be all Jacques was capable of producing, he was envisioning a small neat bullet hole right between the eyes of a man whose death would please many and bring relief to many others. Again at the conclusion of the meal which had ended with another rich dessert, Jacques was again ready to negotiate. Adam offered thirty-five thousand in total with payment of all fees to be included. Jacques held firm on forty thousand. Adam told him it might be a deal breaker, but he would see if he could get his clients to part with more money.

"It may well be several days before I get word on whether I can offer you more. Would it be acceptable to you if I sent a message when I get a reply to my query?"

"Certainly, that would be most acceptable. I would assume though that you would only contact me if they are willing to meet my price. It would be insulting to me to offer again an amount that I have already rejected."

"I understand that fully, sir, and will only send a message if I am authorized to meet your requirements. I will be in the city at least until Monday and will hopefully be able to send a message to you during that interval."

"Will you not stay to carry out the rest of the instructions once the payment is approved?"

"I have reserved a room through Monday. If I get authorization to proceed, then I will extend my stay to work through the details of both processes. I am not completely confident that I will be able to meet your terms so I will wait before extending my reservation."

Having quickly established just how greedy Jacques was, Adam was playing him by not letting him know just how much authority he had to pay even more money than Jacques had requested. It was a tightrope with a man like Jacques because Adam had to offer him enough money so that he would not be offended or angry at the offer, but a small enough amount so that he would not become too demanding and put the price out of reach. So far, it had worked well. He planned to visit with friends over the next few days as well as have his lawyer friend contact the Church to get the machinery working to produce an annulment as quickly as possible. There was no negotiating there. The money had to be paid or the process would not commence. Jacques was well connected socially in the city and had status because of his wealth, but Adam found through some discreet inquiries that he did not have significant business and financial contacts in the city except for those who dealt in illegal or quasi legal activities. He planned to be careful nevertheless and did hire a detective to watch over his meetings with Monsieur Fourier and to check Fourier's activities each day.

On Monday, Adam met with Jacques Fourier once again at lunch. He did the dance and agreed to Fourier's terms. The deal was that with the delivery of the annulment papers, Fourier would receive twenty thousand dollars. With the delivery of the divorce agreement after it had been filed, he would receive an additional twenty thousand dollars. All fees for producing those documents were to be paid by Adam. The two men shook hands and parted amiably. Adam relaxed for the first time since he had designed this plan in his mind. He met with his lawyer and the paperwork was started. On Tuesday, Adam was surprised to return to the hotel after running errands to find Annie and Ben waiting for him.

Rushing into Adam's arms, Annie gave him an enthusiastic kiss that drew some attention in the hotel lobby. Adam knew they had stepped outside the bounds of propriety but was so happy to hold Annie in his arms. He did suggest they go to his room to discuss what had happened so far. He found out that Will and Laura had indeed left on Saturday and should probably have arrived in California by then although they probably had a day or two yet to reach their new home just outside Sacramento. Michelle had come to the Ponderosa as invited on Saturday, and she and Annie had cut patterns, and stitched clothing until the others had returned for lunch. Michele was gradually charming her way into the hearts of Hoss and Joe so the afternoon had passed amiably. Then Adam gave them his news.

"Now, it's a waiting game. It took less time than I thought to get Jacques to agree to the terms, but now we have to hope he does not reconsider and demand more money although I expect that he will."

"Have you made the arrangements to get more money if that happens?"

"Yes, our broker is selling the silver mine shares we own. We got a good price, and that money will be in the bank by the time I may need it. The annulment papers will be ready in a week. It cost more to expedite the process, but it's well worth it in this case don't you think?"

"How much more?"

"Double, but it cut the process from a month to a week."

"Yes, that is definitely a bargain when you look at it that way."

Relaxing next to her husband on the couch in his room, Annie listened and was amazed again at how Adam and his father could talk about spending thousands of dollars on this as if there was an endless supply of money. She had still not gotten used to living within such a wealthy family. She and Jeremy used to feel so rich when they got several hundred dollars for bringing some cows to market. Describing wealth in thousands and millions was simply beyond the scope of her experience. She was tired from the trip though and closed her eyes as she leaned on Adam's shoulder. Ben noticed, and smiling, whispered that he ought to go to his room to freshen up and let Annie get some rest. Adam agreed although until he realized how tired she was, rest had not been his first priority.

The next few days, Adam took his father and Annie to lunch, dinner, and the theatre enjoying his time in San Francisco even more than he usually did because he had the most important people in his life with him. Nights were shorter and the excursions less strenuous though because Annie tired more easily. She barely showed that she was pregnant, but Adam could tell and loved to run his hand over the swelling in her abdomen as they lay in bed each evening and again in the morning.

"Cowboy, that baby isn't growing that fast that you need to keep checking." Annie was grinning as she said it though for she did the same thing and far more often. She still found it so amazing that a life was growing inside of her when she had previously thought that would never happen. Adam smiled too. He had seen her pleasure when he stroked her baby bump and knew that she was happy that he was so overjoyed with the idea of becoming a father. He worried too, but as long as Annie looked this healthy, he was able to keep his fear in check. He prayed each day that nothing bad would happen to Annie or the baby, and his father was praying for the same thing every day as well.

On Friday, Ben left for home planning to stop in and visit Will on his return trip. Annie and Adam spent the day in their room finding joy in one another. The next morning, rejuvenated and relaxed, they headed out for a picnic. On Sunday, there was a church service to attend and then dinner with friends later as Adam and Annie shared their news then with Adam's closest friends in the city. There were congratulations all around and a number of quips about how long it had taken Adam to get to this point.

"Gentlemen and ladies, it is like fine wine. It only gets better with age."

Laughter greeted that statement by Adam and then with more congratulations and a few more well placed jibes, Adam and Annie returned to their hotel. Annie could tell how tense Adam had gotten as the day progressed.

"Are you worried about tomorrow and whether Jacques will show up to sign those papers?"

"Very much so. Annie, you haven't met him and I sincerely hope you never do. Sitting across from his is like sitting with a rattler about two feet from your face. You can smell him and all you sense is danger. You have to be exceedingly careful of your every move knowing that a wrong move could mean disaster. He is not particularly intelligent but you see that look in his eye to know that he has a predator's instincts."

"The way you describe him, he sounds like the devil himself."

"Annie, the world would be a better place if he wasn't in it."

Suddenly worried, Annie looked up sharply at Adam who was undressing for bed. "You're not planning to help him on his journey from this world, I hope?"

"No, but I got the feeling he was waiting for a chance to jump all over me for some perceived wrong. Michele said he was a duelist, but I fear he is much more. He's a natural born killer. I think he likes killing people."

"You will be careful? You're scaring me a little too."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said so much. I guess my nerves a little frazzled too. We'll sleep, and in the morning, I'll make arrangements for the documents to be signed. Then later this week, we'll have the divorce papers ready as well as soon as a judge approves the documents. It's all going as well as I hoped. We may be done with this in two weeks. Then we can go home and let Pa figure out how he's going to take care of the rest of his mess."

"Why didn't you let Papa handle this part of it? I know you told me your reasons, but I was so worried about you being gone, I don't remember. That night is a little hazy for me."

Smiling Adam sat on the bed and reminded her of the reasons. "Pa is so emotional with his love for Michele and his fears over what is going to happen next, he wouldn't have been able to be as dispassionate as you need to be for negotiations. Knowing what Jacques did to Michele, he would have also been very angry which also is a detriment to forging successful agreements. The last reason would be that Pa has impregnated the man's wife. If that was ever divulged, you know what Jacques would do. My father dueled in his day, but he would be no match for Jacques."

"Damn it. I just realized why you took this on your shoulders. You think that if there's a duel, you'll be successful where you father would not. You think that you're going to end up dueling Jacques?"

Forced into admitting that Annie was correct, Adam was dismayed when Annie turned away from him. She lay on her side with her body shuddering with sobs. Adam reached for her but she shied from his touch. He moved closer pressing himself to her and wrapped an arm around her pulling her tightly to him. "Sweetheart, I won't seek out a duel. I just know that Jacques is seeking an excuse to challenge me to one. I'm sorry that I upset you, but who better to take this challenge than me?"

Rolling to face Adam then, Annie's tear streaked face was also furious. "You're a husband and soon you'll be a father. That's a good pair of reasons why you shouldn't even consider this. Adam, I don't know what I would do if I lost you. How could you even think about putting yourself into such a situation?"

"Sweetheart, I'll do my best to avoid it, but I can't promise it won't happen."

With no real resolution to the argument, Annie and Adam had trouble sleeping and both looked like it the next morning. Adam dressed to run his errands as Annie sat morosely picking at her breakfast. By the time Adam returned to report that all was successful and the divorce decree was being processed, Annie smiled a little, and the two of them spent the night quietly. The next day, Annie resolved to try to put the threat of a duel in the background and concentrate on having some enjoyable experiences with her husband. They visited bookstores, pastry shops, and candy shops as they had done on their honeymoon. On Friday, word came that the divorce decree was ready to be signed. Adam left to deliver the payment that would ensure the papers were signed and filed. All went well until the payment was made. Then Jacques asked for more.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"Your father was in town. I would have liked to meet him."

"I'm sorry that I did not know that. He was only here for a few days though." Adam got an uneasy feeling about this conversation with Jacques.

"Yes, I would have liked to meet the man who took my wife to bed. Ah, I see from your look that you did not think I would find this out. I also have learned that you and your family are quite wealthy and could have paid me much more than what you did. I demand that you pay me five hundred thousand dollars in compensation for your family disgracing me or meet me on the dueling grounds tomorrow morning."

"There must be another way. Perhaps a reasonable amount of money could be paid to you for the perceived wrong you believe you have suffered, but half a million dollars is well beyond what my family can afford to pay."

"No, no! No negotiations. There are no negotiations where honor is concerned. You have my terms. I expect an answer."

"When and where?"

Smiling like a hyena poised over its prey, Jacques bowed slightly and issued a time and place. Adam was given the choice of pistols or rapiers. He chose pistols. Jacques smiled his predator's smile although he would have preferred the rapier. He enjoyed the resistance of skin and muscle and then the feeling of it yielding under pressure. He liked being close to a man when he realized he was mortally wounded. Men usually thought they would be able to give him a good fight with the rapier never realizing his training made him a master. Pistols got it over with quickly and the tension in his opponent always made him feel superior and masterful. He always felt a rush just before that let him fire at his opponent with impunity. He looked at the soon to be dead man in front of him and smiled even more broadly. Adam nodded and left. Adam's worst fear over these negotiations had come to fruition, and now he had to tell Annie although he briefly toyed with the idea of not telling her until it was over. He knew that would doom his marriage though so he headed to the hotel for what he knew would be an emotional afternoon and evening.

The next morning, standing in a slight fog, Jacques was confident. He had dispatched enough jealous husbands to have little fear of a cowboy from the wilderness. He had a second but only because it was proper form. He had invited his latest conquest to be with him to see him duel. He was tiring of her already, but he planned to keep her around for his dalliance until he chose his next paramour. He had quite a bit of money now after accepting those payments from Cartwright and had rid himself of the encumbrance of Michele too. He was feeling quite good, although he did expect the cowboy to look more nervous than he did. With his stance and demeanor, Adam looked altogether too confident he thought. His second noticed too and suggested that because they had both shown up to accept the duel, any matter of honor was already upheld if he wished. His pride wouldn't let him do that although his mind was suggesting it was a good idea. The referee stepped forward with the pistol case, and both men walked forward to select one. Adam checked his over carefully although he had done it once already. His second who was his lawyer as well stood by and said nothing. He knew the reputations of both men and had a fair estimate of their abilities. He fully expected Adam to be riding home that day.

Just as the referee began the count to start the duel, several men walked out of the nearby trees. Adam was not surprised and kept his concentration on the count and on Jacques. Jacques was suddenly very afraid. He did not know who these men were, but from the looks on their faces, they knew him well. Adam had contacted friends and family of men who had been killed by Jacques. They were there to see Jacques meet his maker, and they would of course cause some nervousness on the part of Jacques as Adam had planned. The number three was spoken in deathly quiet by the referee, and two guns fired. Jacques and Adam fell to the ground, but only one of them rose again. Adam rose from one knee and was clutching his left arm as blood leaked between his fingers. Jacques had been better than expected but not nearly good enough. He was dead with a bullet hole neatly placed between his eyes. Adam dropped the pistol on the body and turned to his second who wrapped a handkerchief around his arm.

"We need to leave here quickly. The police will arrive soon. They will be able to tell what happened but not who did it if we're all gone." Within a minute, the area was empty of all living persons, and the police arrived to investigate the gunshots but found only one man apparently killed in a duel. In such a situation, it was not worth their time and effort to investigate. Dueling was against the law, but no jury would convict anyway as people in the west considered it a matter of self-defense.

There would be no tears shed for Jacques Fourier. He had no children and no spouse, but his will was still on record with his lawyer. It named Michele Fourier as his beneficiary as he had not had time to change it. In the hotel room as Adam and Annie were packing to leave, that news was delivered by his lawyer. Adam instructed the lawyer to begin liquidation of the Fourier estate and to place all proceeds in an account for Michele Fourier. Adam hoped that this information would at least crack the icy barrier that was between him and his wife since the duel that morning and their discussions the previous day. It didn't. He would have to wait to let her process what had happened, and then probably there would be a fiery exchange between them to clear the air. Annie had issued no ultimatums to prohibit him from dueling, but she might just as well have done that for the impact it had on their relationship.

Boarding a steamer for Sacramento the next day, Adam and Annie were still at odds. She could not accept what he had done, and he could not imagine a scenario in which he could have done things differently and still had his self-respect. They spent a night in Sacramento, had dinner, slept, and packed up the next morning without the usual banter and certainly no intimacy. As they rode the stage for the next part of the journey, a woman on board the stage asked a number of questions. She was surprised they had been married less than a year. At the first rest station, the woman held Adam's arm as he was going to go into the station for lunch.

"Young man, I was married for over forty years before my husband died. One thing he never forgot in all that time was why I said yes to him when he proposed. I think you have already forgotten. Perhaps you should try to remember." She went into the small ramshackle station then to have some lunch and get away from the unrelenting heat. Adam was angry at first that a stranger would deign to interfere and offer him advice, but the more that he thought, the more he wondered if she was correct. Finally with a small crooked smile, he went to have lunch as well. The day was extremely hot so the driver told them they would wait two hours before continuing. They were spending the night at the next way station and would arrive closer to eight than the scheduled six but the horses would handle the conditions better if they waited to let the sun move a bit lower in the sky. Adam asked Annie to walk with him to a grove of trees nearby.

"Why? It's hot and I don't think I will enjoy the exercise."

"It will be cooler there, and the station manager says there's a small pond there. We could take off our shoes or boots and put our feet in the water."

That did sound appealing so Annie agreed to go with Adam. He took her arm in a soft hold and guided her there. Once there, he told her to sit so he could remove her shoes. As that was done, he massaged her feet before letting her swing around and put her feet in the water. Then he pulled off his boots, sat beside her on her right side, and immersed his feet as well.

"I'm still mad at you, you know."

"Yes."

"I still don't understand how you could put yourself at risk like that."

"I know."

"Aren't you even going to defend yourself at all?"

"Would it matter? There's nothing I can say that will make you accept what I did, but I still feel I did what I had to do. We disagree. It happens."

"You can be infuriating some times. I want to just smack you when you're like that."

"Sometimes I still would like to give you a spanking."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"We've had this discussion before. I would dare if I thought it was necessary."

"Even if I was really mad at you afterwards?"

"Yes."

"You're doing that on purpose to make me talk to you, aren't you? I hate that when you manipulate me like that."

"I know."

And then Annie did smack him on the arm. Unfortunately it was the arm that Jacques' bullet had creased, and Adam jerked with the pain. Annie was immediately contrite and wrapped her arms around Adam to pull him close and kiss him which he was more than enthusiastic in encouraging. Suddenly she frowned and leaned back and looked at him. "Did you do that on purpose too?"

"Do what?"

"Sit there on my right side and then antagonize me until I smacked you one?"

"Now, Annie, do you really believe I would let you hurt me on purpose?" Adam had that hint of a smile that drove her crazy wondering what he was thinking.

With a deep sigh, Annie started laughing. She lay back on the soft grass and stared at the blue sky they could see through the treetops. "You are a real piece of work, mister. Will you at least promise that we will talk over any future plans in depth before you do them so that I can state my opinion while it still matters?"

"I can do that."

"No, I want you to promise you will do that. No more sentences with wiggle room so you can always say you did what I said even though you didn't do what I meant."

Resting on his sore arm, Adam leaned down close to Annie. "I promise that I will talk over any future plans with you in depth before I do anything about them so that you at least get to state your opinion while it still matters." Then he leaned down further and sealed the agreement with a kiss. Soon more was happening, and later they had to hurry to get their footgear on and get to the stage when they heard the driver calling for them. Once they got there, Adam kissed the widow on the cheek.

"Not that I'm complaining, sweetie, but what was that for?"

"Ma'am, I think you know, and thank you."

"Adam, why are you kissing another woman?"

"She gave me some great advice earlier. She's a very wise woman. Besides I only kissed her on the cheek. Sorry, ma'am, my wife gets a little jealous sometimes. I don't mind."

For the next stage of the trip, Annie and Adam conversed at length with the widow after they introduced themselves so they could call each other by name. The widow was Margaret Marshall but she said everyone called her Peg. She was heading to Virginia City to find work as a cook or seamstress. Adam and Annie said they might be able to help her with that. At the next station, they had dinner and then it was time to get some sleep. The station manager offered the spare bedroom to Adam and Annie.

"No, I can sleep out here in a chair. Let the two ladies have the bed."

"Adam, are you sure? I would hate to separate a man from his wife."

"No, that's quite all right, Peg. Annie, that's all right with you isn't it?"

When Annie nodded yes, Peg gave Adam an appraising look. That afternoon it was clear the chill was gone between Adam and Annie even to the point that Annie had leaned into Adam who wrapped an arm around her so she could get a nap on the stage. Then Peg remembered how the two had been gone and had to be called back to the stage so they could leave. Peg smiled.

"You do work fast young man, don't you?"

Then Peg walked into the bedroom with her valise. Annie blushed a little and followed her in closing the door. Soon there was giggling coming from the bedroom which made Adam wince. Once again he was reminded that in marriage, privacy was not nearly as protected as he would like. The station manager went to his bedroom so it was Adam and the driver in the main room of the station. They had a cup of coffee, turned down the lamps, and did their best to sleep in the chairs that were there.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

In the morning, Adam slowly awakened to a woman's hands massaging his neck as he leaned on the table where he had slept the night before. "I'm going to give you about twenty minutes to cut that out."

"Your wife might object to that."

With a start, Adam turned quickly around to find that Peg had been the one rubbing his cramped neck and shoulders. Annie was carrying her valise from the bedroom and grinning at him.

"Gotcha!"

"You really are asking for it, you know."

Simply shaking her head, Annie handed her valise to Adam. He sighed and carried it outside to be loaded on the stage. Grabbing his kit, he went to the water trough, pulled off his shirt, and pumped cold water over his head and face feeling the whisker stubble that required him to shave twice a day to be presentable. He soaped up and took care of that before donning his shirt and heading back inside. After breakfast, they headed out. In two more days, they should arrive in Virginia City. In Placerville, Adam and Annie took a room for the night. It was a relief to Adam to have a bed to stretch out in. He relaxed and waited for Annie to join him there after she combed out her hair and took care of cleaning up after the dusty ride. Adam had been going to order a bath for them but it had gotten quite late with some problems with the coach that day so all they really wanted to do was to get some sleep. In a day and a half, they would be home.

Riding into Virginia City after that day and a half of traveling, Adam and Annie were anxious to get the papers delivered to Michele and go home. Annie was very tired after all the stress and then the travel. Peg asked her if she was ill, and she replied it was just that the baby was sapping all of her energy. Realizing that she had slipped and announced she was with child to a near stranger, Annie blushed but Adam asked if Peg wanted them to introduce her to Michele who would likely need some assistance in her shop and he said he knew of a boarding house as well. Peg was grateful and the three of them headed to Michele's shop. Under the pretense of introducing Peg to Michele, they could hand over the legal documents without any gossips getting any more ammunition. There was a woman in the shop when they arrived so Adam and Annie kept everything very business-like until the end of their conversation when Annie had a question.

"Michele, could you please come out to the ranch on Saturday and help me again with cutting patterns and getting some of my sewing projects started? I would certainly pay you for your time and possibly entice you with the promise of one of Hop Sing's lunches?"

Michele graciously accepted and took the papers from Adam when her customer was otherwise occupied. She agreed to take on Peg as a helper for a time at least for she told them she had fallen behind on her work with so many orders coming in. It seemed that the women of Virginia City were finding more and more reasons to visit her shop and it was exhausting to try to get everything done. With their task accomplished, Adam and Annie escorted Peg to Clementine Hawkins' boardinghouse and gave their recommendation so that she would be able to rent a room there. Peg thanked them for all their help, and Annie suggested that she could visit the Ponderosa sometime when she could get away. Peg was delighted to say yes to that. By then, Adam spotted Hoss with the carriage at the stage depot so he escorted Annie there. Hoss greeted them with enthusiasm.

"Heard you had quite a successful trip. Got all that business taken care of on that end?"

"Yes, we did. Now it's up to Pa to handle things from this end." Adam nodded at Hoss. They would talk more once they were away from the big ears in town. As they rode to the Ponderosa, Adam filled Hoss in on everything he had done including the duel.

"Is that why you were all fired up to be the one to go? You suspected there might be a duel? Pa's gonna be upset with you when he finds out."

"I already got blasted by Annie. Pa can't be any worse than that."

Annie was going to punch him in the arm for that, but she realized she was on his left side and would have to hit his sore arm so she reached around and pinched his behind instead. He yelped and jumped forward a bit causing Hoss to laugh so hard he almost ran the carriage off the road.

"You do that, Annie. He needs someone to keep him in line." And Hoss laughed more as Adam scowled at him.

Adam stared at Annie. "You are getting closer and closer to making me do it."

"Do what?" Hoss had no idea why Adam had said that.

"Oh, Hoss, he keeps threatening to spank me. He wouldn't dare."

"Annie, now I wouldn't be too sure about that. Did he tell you about the time he spanked Margarita in front of her father, her sister, and the rest of us?" So Hoss proceeded to tell the tale of the shrew Adam tamed especially about spanking her after she broke Adam's guitar over Hoss' head.

Not knowing whether to laugh or be shocked, Annie was a bit of both. "You wouldn't dare do that to me, would you?"

"Keep pushing, and you will find out."

It was quiet for a bit then before Hoss started talking about Ben and how happy he had been when they had gotten the wire that all had been resolved. The three of them discussed when Ben was likely to propose to Michele. It needed to be soon considering that she was already carrying his child. In a couple of months, she would be showing and then there would be no way to stop the gossip except it wasn't unusual for couples to marry with a child already on the way so the talk would die down as long as they were married a reasonable length of time. Adam correctly guessed that there were women in town watching the calendar to see when his child was born in order to gossip about it if it was less than nine months after their wedding. It wouldn't be so the gossips would be disappointed with that one.

"How much money do you think Michele is going to get when they sell off the property of that husband of hers?"

"We have no way of knowing. I would think at least forty thousand because of the money we gave him, but who knows what kind of debts he may have incurred. We'll have to wait and see. I asked for expedited sales so it shouldn't take long to know."

"How come you could do all that without Michele's say so?"

"She gave me documents before I left allowing me to act on her behalf."

"Ah, that was smart. Then she didn't have to go and take a chance on being with that jasper. You two work well together on business stuff. Is Michele going to keep her shop in town if she and Pa get married?"

"Well, let's hope that's a when and not an if, but yes, I think she will. We found her an employee too on the stage ride. She has a lady about Pa's age who's going to be working with her at least until she gets caught up on all the orders that have come flooding in lately."

"Why is she getting so much work now?"

"It seems that the busybodies in town are in her shop as often as they can, and they need an excuse to stop and chat with her so they order up a dress. Just the fittings are keeping Michele very busy. They're casting about trying to get some information so they can spread more stories. Michele is holding up well under the pressure, but even she can't take that forever. I invited her to come out and help me again on Saturday. That will get her out of that shop, and give her a chance to relax."

Once Hoss had gotten Adam and Annie back to the Ponderosa, it didn't take long to find out Ben's reaction to Adam being in a duel with Jacques.

"What in tarnation did you think you were doing taking a chance like that? You have a wife and a baby on the way. Did you think about them at all? Of all the irresponsible, lame-brained schemes, this has to be number one. Well, don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

Barely holding on to his temper, Adam paused a little before answering. It would help him calm himself, but he knew from previous experience that his father would now start feeling just a little guilty for blasting him like that especially in front of members of the family. He waited until he could state his position clearly and without rancor. "If you're negotiating with a known duelist, it's always a possibility. I had confidence in my ability to survive. I didn't have that confidence that he would not kill you. I couldn't live with myself if I had let you go into that situation and done nothing to stop it."

"I am perfectly capable of handling negotiations and would never have let it get to the point that I was challenged to a duel!"

"Not if he found out you were sleeping with his wife and demanded a half million dollars in compensation!" Adam had been pushed far enough that he knew he had embarrassed his father but his father had snidely denigrated Adam's abilities, and he lost his cool. He did find that his father and Joe had that ability far more than any other living soul. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that in front of everyone."

Fuming a bit at first before realizing who had caused this disagreement to get this far, Ben apologized as well. "I'm sorry too. I should not have criticized you for doing the best you could do under circumstances I created. I'll let your wife handle any criticism of you dueling. She was the one with the most to lose."

"Ahh, Annie's already taken care of that. We've, ah, reached an understanding."

Recognizing that the worst was over, Annie changed the subject. "I asked Michelle to come out again on Saturday to help me. Now that she has Peg to help, that should work out even better for her."

"Who's Peg?"

So Adam and Annie explained how they met Peg and why she was in Virginia City. It was serendipity for all concerned. Then they explained that Michele was the beneficiary of Jacques' will.

"I can't see that she would want anything from him after what he did to her. I can certainly supply her with anything she needs." The unspoken commitment was there in Ben's words and everyone in the family heard it.

"Pa, I told her he owed it to her. It was the least he should have done after everything he put her through. Besides, forty thousand of it were the two payments I gave to him. She's just getting the money back."

"I suppose that's true. I just don't like her owning anything that he owned."

"That's why everything is going to be sold. It will only be money. She can then use it to purchase anything she wants or give the money away. It will be her decision. She will finally have taken the power away from him. I think that's important for her to be able to do."

Recognizing the truth in Adam's statement and how well his oldest son understood the woman Ben loved, Ben had to thank him. Then he thanked Annie for inviting Michele to come out to the Ponderosa again. He was grateful for how his family had accepted the woman with whom he had fallen in love, and he told them that. Hoss had that aw shucks look of his, and the others made light of what they had done, but Ben could see they were all pleased that he had acknowledged how much they were doing to try to help him.

Because Annie was tired by all the travel and the emotional upheaval of recent events, Adam insisted she head up to their room to get some rest. When she did, she found the room emptied of all their belongings and furnished with guest room furniture. She looked back at Adam who was flanked by his two brothers and father and rushed to the end of the hall finding the door to their new room open. Their bed, dresser, desk, and other belongings had been moved into the guest room with the adjoining room. When she peeked in there, she saw a cradle and a trundle bed all made up for a baby's arrival. All the room needed were the new curtains that she and Michele had been working on.

"Hoss and Joe did this for us while we were gone. Jeremy helped with the heavy lifting. All you need to do are the curtains for each room and then any other special touches you want."

Throwing her arms around Hoss first and then Joe, Annie was smiling and crying. Neither brother really knew how to react to that. "Oh, I'm so sorry, but being with child seems to have made me an emotional mess. I'm really happy, and oh so grateful to you for this. Thank you, thank you." Then Annie hugged Adam. "Did you know they were going to do this?"

"Know it, Sis! Heck, he planned it. He sent a wire and said as soon as you were packed up and headed out on that stage, we could move everything from your old bedroom to this one. Pa made us get the baby stuff out of the attic too and clean it all up." Joe was very proud of how well he and Hoss had done in pleasing Annie.

As soon as Hoss and Joe headed downstairs, Annie did a more thorough examination of both rooms finding them meticulously well organized and clean. "Joe really ought to find himself a wife. She would be one lucky lady."

"One of those women is going to have to grab hold of him. He's pretty fast. He's usually seeing a woman, just dumped a woman, been dumped by a woman, or looking for the next woman. There's hardly time for a relationship to develop."

"Well, I'm going to have to pay closer attention and help out any likely candidates."

"Oh, no. You just stick to planning for us. Don't get involved in Joe's. That's a recipe for disaster. If you want to help, look around for a nice lady for Hoss. He's the one who ought to be married and having a bunch of children."

"Really?"

"No, no, I was just kidding. Please let my brothers work out their own romances, please?"

"All right. I'm busy enough helping your father with his anyway."

Rolling his eyes, Adam leaned down to kiss Annie. "Now get some sleep. The two of you have had a difficult couple of weeks, and you need your rest. We can unpack later."

For a few days, Annie enjoyed a life of leisure. On Saturday morning, she got out all of her sewing materials ready for a day of learning how to make gowns and curtains from Michele. She was very much looking forward to the day, and was shocked when Hoss rushed inside to tell Adam that Michele's carriage had arrived with a damaged wheel, but Michele wasn't in it. Hoss and Adam quickly rode out to find out what had happened as Ben and Joe got the buckboard hitched up and put blankets in the back and then hurried to catch up. Annie had wanted to go too, but Ben told her she would hinder not help them. She reluctantly sat on the porch and waited for news after telling Hop Sing that there might be an injured person being brought to the ranch. Annie hoped that a minor injury was all that had happened, but she feared it was a lot more. Her fears were realized an hour later when Hoss drove the wagon into the yard. Ben was sitting in the back cradling Michele's head on his lap and holding a cloth against her head. Adam was soon there and jumped into the wagon to help his father pick Michele up and hand her over the side to Hoss who carried the unconscious woman inside.

Adam gave Annie a quick rundown then. "She must have fallen out when the carriage hit a rock and tilted. She's got a head injury and possibly other injuries. Joe took Chubb and rode for the doctor."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

"Ben, could I speak with you privately?" Doctor Martin had just come out of the downstairs guest room where Michele was. He had been tending to her for well over two hours, and the five Cartwrights had become very tense with the waiting. Just a short time before, Hop Sing had exited with soiled sheets and a basin of brown water. He would say nothing, but after about fifteen minutes, he had taken clean sheets and a basin of clean water in with him.

"You can tell everyone how she is. There are no secrets here."

"None?" Paul was surprised, but then the Cartwrights often surprised him. "She will be fine in a few weeks. She has a nasty bump on the head and a mild concussion, but her memory is unimpaired and she is lucid. She has some nasty bruising to her abdomen but no internal bleeding as far as I can tell, and no broken ribs. However, she lost the baby. It wasn't that far along and it was a risk for her being with child for the first time at her age. She couldn't withstand the trauma of the blow to her abdomen when she fell. I'm sorry. There was nothing that could be done about that." Paul noted that no one had seemed surprised that Michele had been with child, and all were dismayed that she had lost the baby.

"Can I see her?"

"Ben, let her have a little time to settle comfortably in the bed. Hop Sing is changing the bedding, and we gave her a clean gown to put on. Once he comes out, she'll change but it may take her some time. She was banged up pretty good. Perhaps, Annie could go in to help her?"

Not needing any encouragement, Annie moved quickly to the bedroom and Hop Sing was leaving as she got there. Then there was another long wait before Annie came out to say that Michele would prefer to rest quietly and alone for a time. Ben sighed deeply worried about her and with apparently nothing he could do to help. Periodically Annie checked in the room just to be sure that Michele didn't need anything until Michele asked her if she would just stay and sit quietly with her. Ben was frustrated as any man would be in such a circumstance. Doctor Martin left after giving Hop Sing some laudanum in case Michele needed it for the pain especially if it prevented her from sleeping.

None of the Cartwright men slept well that night. Ben sat up late as did Adam. Annie had come out of the Michele's bedroom a few times. Once she left to get some dinner for them, and another time to use the necessary. She shook her head and told Ben that Michele wasn't ready to see him yet. The last time she came out was to get a quilt and to kiss Adam good night because Michele had asked if she could stay with her. So after Hoss and Joe retired for the night, Adam and Ben sat up talking for a time and then just staring into the flames. Adam worried about the effects of this stress on Annie who was now six months along herself. Finally he left to get some sleep after encouraging Ben to do the same. After midnight, Ben went to his bed but didn't sleep. He worried about Michele and what this miscarriage would do to their relationship. He didn't want anything to change but feared it would affect how she saw him. He didn't know what the effect would be but feared the worst. Hoss and Joe both heard their brother and then their father come up to bed quite late. They knew how each was suffering and were sorry that there was nothing they could do.

With the dawn, Hoss awakened and so amazingly did Joe. When they dressed and went downstairs, they found their father and older brother already sitting downstairs drinking coffee in front of the fireplace.

"We didn't miss breakfast, now did we?" Trying to keep it light, Hoss said the one thing that usually could get a rise out of Adam even in the early morning. It didn't work this time. Ben simply answered that Hop Sing was preparing breakfast and it would be ready soon. Annie came out of the downstairs bedroom about that time. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked exhausted.

"You're going up to bed right now." Adam was extremely concerned about his wife at that point and wasn't about to consider discussing the merits of his suggestion.

"I can't. Michele needs me."

"Our baby needs you, and your first priority is our child right now."

About to argue about it, Annie was halted by Ben's agreement with Adam and then Hoss and Joe also seconded his suggestion. Adam stood there looking concerned, worried, and angry as well as tired himself. Annie nodded, and Adam took her by the arm and walked her up the stairs.

"Adam, you look like you could use some sleep as well. You should stay with Annie. We'll take care of Michele."

Considering what his father was suggesting, Adam wasn't going to argue with him either. He simply nodded and continued to help Annie up the stairs. In their bedroom, Adam helped Annie undress. Normally that would have led to some lovemaking, but in this situation, he helped her clean up and then dress in a clean gown. He pulled the covers back on the bed so she could slide into the bed. She snuggled into the pillow and closed her eyes. By the time Adam lay down beside her and wrapped an arm protectively around her, she was already breathing quietly and evenly in a light sleep. Relieved of his worries for the moment, Adam pushed his face into Annie's hair and inhaled the scent. Then he kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes falling into a restful sleep as well.

Downstairs, things did not go nearly as well for Ben at first. When he entered the bedroom to see if Michele wanted some breakfast, she asked for Annie.

"Annie needed to get some sleep. Adam took her upstairs. She's six months along now and needs her rest. I can help you."

"I'm so sorry. I know how disappointed you must be with me."

Sitting on the side of the bed then because standing at the door simply wasn't enough, Ben touched Michele on the shoulder and took her hand. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm not disappointed at all. I'm very concerned about you. I love you, and I was terribly worried. This must have been so hard for you."

Hoss got up from the dining table and walked to the guest room pulling the door closed. This was a conversation that Ben and Michele needed to have privately. Joe was a little disappointed they would not hear how the couple resolved their concerns. Hoss looked at Joe a little peevishly.

"We'll find out when they want to tell us." Then he put some food on his plate and started eating because he felt better about things already. Just those first statements from his father and from Michele indicated they would work things out. And Adam had Annie upstairs resting so everyone was getting what they needed, and at the moment, Hoss needed breakfast. Joe needed a new girlfriend and had missed a Saturday night in town. Hoss was guessing that Joe was going to be ornery all week or at least until Friday when he could get to town.

In the bedroom, Michele was quiet for quite a while. Ben held her hand and stroked his other hand slowly up and down her arm hoping it was soothing her. She didn't flinch from his touch so her arm wasn't hurting, and more importantly she wasn't rejecting Ben's attention. When she tried to turn to look at him more directly though, she grimaced in pain.

"Do you need some laudanum for the pain?"

"No, I wanted to be able to look at you directly. I'll be fine. I took some last night when I needed to sleep." Michele wanted to see Ben's face when she said the next thing she wanted to say. Ben wasn't like Adam who could hold that mask in place no matter what was being said. Even when Ben was trying to be impassive, he always reacted to what was said although he could get that neutral face back quickly if he tried. "Ben, you don't have to stay with me now."

"I have nothing else more important to do today. I'll be here as much as you need me."

"No, I mean you don't have to be committed to me. Without the baby, you're free of me if you want to be."

"What? You just stop talking like that right now. I want to be with you because I love you. The baby forced the issue, but I was thinking all along that I wanted to find a way to be with you forever. It is very sad that we have lost our baby, but we have each other, and the boys and Annie are here too. We can still be a very loving family."

"Ben, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I don't ever want you to leave here. I want you to be my wife and live here on the Ponderosa with me. I know this is an odd time to do this, but Michele, will you marry me?"

Looking to Ben to see if there was pity or guilt or some other emotion driving him to ask her that, Michele saw only love and concern. "Yes, Ben, if you'll have me, I'll marry you."

Although Ben wanted to wrap his arms around Michele and hug and kiss her passionately, he leaned forward slowly so as not to cause her any discomfort, and he kissed her very gently as he held her cheek. "Thank you. You have made me a very happy man. As soon as you feel up to it, we'll go to town and get you a ring, and we can meet with the minister to pick a date for the wedding. I would like it to be soon."

"Yes, you can do all the planning. I'm tired and I'd like a nap now." Michele had a small smile then even though she had suffered the tragedy of the loss of the baby. Softening the shock somewhat was that she remembered Doctor Martin's warning when she first saw him that he thought that she might lose the baby because he saw signs that she might not be able to carry to term. She wasn't a medical person so the terms he used had eluded her understanding, but his conclusion had been clear. Now the worst had happened, but she and Ben could move forward. There was nothing more she could hope or pray for at this point so she just wanted to sleep and forget about it for a time.

So Ben sat quietly by Michele's side until she fell asleep. Then he gently tucked the covers up to her chin and went to talk with his sons. He told them first to stay quiet no matter what he said, and then he told Hoss and Joe that he and Michele were getting married. He sent Joe into town to contact Peg to let her know what had happened and to be sure she could open the store for the next week without Michele's help. He sent Hoss up to see if Adam and Annie were awake so he could tell them the news.

"Adam, you awake?" Hoss heard a yes from the bedroom. "Are you two decent?"

"Of course we're decent. But if you're asking if we're dressed, the answer is yes."

Hoss shook his head a little because sometimes his older brother was a little hard to understand. He pushed the door open. "Pa says he'd like ya downstairs whenever you can cause he has something he wants to tell you." When Hoss saw both Adam and Annie look nervous at that, he quickly amended his statement. "He's got some good news to tell ya." Then before he could say too much, Hoss pulled the door shut and left which left Adam and Annie sputtering with questions so they hurriedly got out of bed, refreshed themselves, and hurried downstairs.

Having trouble fitting in her dresses, Annie was wearing a skirt that she could pull up over the bulge and had wrapped a shawl around her as Michele had told her and with Adam's help secured it at her waist. By the time Annie walked down the stairs, it was clear to everyone that she was with child. She had been disguising the bump for quite a while but no longer could for it seemed to grow daily according to her complaints to Adam. When Ben saw her, he got a lump in his throat and a tear in his eye over the loss he and Michele had suffered but consoled himself that there would at least soon be a baby in the family. When Ben told Annie and Adam his news, they were both overjoyed, and Annie hugged and kissed Ben for she was so looking forward to having female companionship in this household of men. Annie had not had a woman to talk with since her mother had died. Ben looked at it the other way that Michele would have a woman with whom to commiserate and celebrate especially when the men were out working.

Over the next few days, there was a lot of consoling of Ben and Michele when they were feeling down about the loss they had suffered, and then a lot of celebrating when they were talking about the wedding. In town, rumors were rampant that Michele was on the Ponderosa to hide the fact that she was with child. The gossips claimed the accident was a creative story and a ruse to explain her absence from town. In two weeks when a slim Michele accompanied Ben and the family to church services, and the minister announced that they were getting married the following Saturday, the gossips were stymied. The small scar on her forehead was clear evidence that she had in fact been injured, and that narrow waist could not conceal a pregnancy. They were embarrassed when people questioned the stories they had been telling, and they had no answers. More than one person was heard to say that slandering Ben Cartwright was a terrible thing to do for the man did so much for his neighbors and for the town.

By late August, Ben and Michele returned from a month long honeymoon in Denver. Jeremy married a homesteader's daughter and moved into the Anderson home. He and his wife planned to plant vegetables, raise chickens, and hogs, keep dairy cows, and sell their surplus in town. Ben accepted fresh vegetables, cheese, butter, and hams in lieu of rent for the property, and Jeremy continued to work as a ranch hand as well. When Adam took Annie for a ride to show her a property they could use to build a house, she said they could do that someday but that she enjoyed living in the big house with the whole family. Peg ran the store full time, and Michele and Annie did a lot of the sewing and stitching on the Ponderosa delivering it to the store twice a week. Then in September, Annie shook Adam to awaken him one night.

"Adam, it's time."

"Hmm, time for what? It's still dark."

"Time for the baby, you big lug. Now get out of bed. You need to help me clean up this mess. My water broke."

"I'll get Hop Sing. He'll help."

"Not yet he won't. I want to be dressed in a dry gown and have clean sheets on the bed before he gets here. Now help!"

"Shouldn't I go get the doctor?" Adam was busy pulling sheets off the bed and replacing them with clean dry ones as Annie tugged a clean gown over her head. Then he put the blanket back on the bed as well.

"No, you're staying right here. You can send Joe or someone else. You put that baby in there, and you're damn well going to be here when he comes out."

"How do you know it's a boy?"

"Because a girl would have waited until morning. Now roll all this up and then you can tell everyone who needs telling."

Within an hour, Annie's contractions were coming very close together. Michele and Adam were with her. "Adam, I think that baby is going to be here before the doctor. I've never helped at a birth. Have you?"

"Not unless you count the livestock. Hop Sing has though so he's our best bet for help."

Almost on cue, Hop Sing entered the room carrying all the things they would need. There were towels, string, clean sheets, and pitchers of warm water and cool water. The diminutive man was nearly invisible behind the stack of items he was carrying and the two pitchers in his hands. Ben walked in behind with a tray with a pot of tea and cups quickly retreating when he heard his wife say she could see the head, Annie screamed, and Adam and Michele tended to the young woman. When Ben got downstairs, all he saw were the worried looks on Hoss and Jeremy. Hoss had gone to get Annie's brother when Joe rode to get the doctor but neither of them was there yet.

Before Ben could say anything, there was the wail of a baby upstairs.

"Well, that might be a record. That baby arrived in a hurry." Although Ben remembered that Annie had been complaining of a backache and nausea at dinner. That had probably been the start of her labor, but she had not known it. Less than four hours after Annie had awakened Adam, a baby boy was wrapped in swaddling clothes and resting in Annie's arms. Adam, who had been dreading this night because of his fears of what could happen in labor, sat back in near shock. There hadn't been time to be afraid for they had been so busy. Hop Sing and Michele cleaned up and then left the couple alone with their child.

"We never did settle firmly on a name. Are we going to call him Andrew after my father or Adam after you?"

"Let's call him Andrew Adam Cartwright. I do like the nickname your father had. Drew is a good name."

"Well, hello little Drew. Would you like to see if you can have something to drink now?"

Drew struggled a bit with the unfamiliar requirements of suckling but as soon as some milk entered his mouth, he latched on like he knew what he was doing. It was noisy slurping, and he soon tired of it, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. With a smirk, Annie looked at Adam. "He's a lot like his father already."

"Hey, now don't talk like that when the family is around. It's not too late for that spanking."

"Oh, hush. Now that he's sleeping, you take him down and show the family. I think I'll relax a little too. I didn't get much sleep last night."

As Adam was carrying Drew down the stairs, Joe rushed in with Doctor Martin. "Well, it looks like I missed the birth. I'll go up and check Annie. Adam, bring the baby up as soon as everyone has had a chance to admire him, and I'll check him over too."

Jeremy had tears in his eyes when Adam told them the baby's name. Adam told Jeremy that he should go up with him when he took the baby upstairs for Paul to examine him.

So in a year, much had happened on the Ponderosa. Adam was married, had a son, and any plans to leave were forgotten. Ben was married and loneliness was no longer a concern for him. Hoss and Joe were starting to think more seriously about getting married. The Ponderosa was much larger, Will and Laura were happily raising their family in California, and the gossips in town were stymied.


End file.
